Naruto: The Living Shinigami
by TrinityChaos
Summary: Minato was able to survive the sealing, but at a small cost. Cutting ties with the Namikaze family due to a string of events, Naruto is dragged into the middle of something from before even the Rikudo Sennin. Minato/Kushina Alive! Older/Very Smart Very Powerful Naruto! No Uchiha Massacre. Bleach Elements. Rewrite Coming!
1. Ch 1 Kyuubi Attack

A/N:

This was my very first fanfiction story, as you may be able to guess. I can't tell if it was too short or not long enough, so some reviews would be great. Please leave constructive criticism if you want to, and I'll see what I can to improve if I get motivated enough to continue this story.

Summary: Minato survives the sealing of the Kyuubi. Naruto becomes a hidden genius who strives to accomplish his goal, while being forgotten in the shadows of his younger sisters, both being jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. I suck at summaries. Minato/Kushina Alive! Older/Very Smart Naruto! No Uchiha Massacre.

There will be Bleach elements in this story, just to give you a heads up. Mostly the concept of Reiyoku or spiritual energy. No actual Bleach characters though.

There may or may not be some bashing, but if there is, chances are it will be the Konoha council.

Pairings have been undecided, but feel free to suggest some.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu names**

**Ch.1 Prologue- The Kyuubi Attack**

In the Namikaze Clan Compound (Approx. 5 pm)

"Ero-jisan" was heard from a 4-year old Naruto, the perverted man mumbled something about disrespectful kids and replied with a 'hmm'. "I feel like something bad will happen today" Naruto said. Jiraiya said "I do too kiddo, but I'm sure your dad can handle it". This did little to reassure Naruto.

*Scene Change, That evening*

Somewhere away from the Namikaze compound, Minato and Kushina are in the hospital, the latter holding two newborn girls. Both were smiling at their pride and joy. "They're beautiful aren't they?" The red-head asks, the man says "Indeed they are, they take after us a lot. What should we name them?" The red-headed woman smiles even more "Natsuki, and Kasumi." Neither of them looked outside to see an ominous blood moon in the sky, as they were preoccupied with their twins.

*Scene Change, Later*

A booming roar is heard near the village. "Defend the village!" "Hold it back until Hokage-sama gets here!" Screams of pain and fighting can be heard throughout the village. Blood and dead bodies littered the area. A massive nine-tailed demon fox only known Kyuubi, was on the horizon, attacking the village known as Konohagakure no Sato. A mighty swing of its tail caused unparalleled destruction. A ninja sees Sarutobi Hiruzen approaching. "Sandaime-sama, where is Yondaime-sama?" The old man replies "I do not know, but pray he is here soon". No one at the scene noticed they fox's strange red eyes with three tomoes, much like the doujutsu of a certain clan.

*At the same time*

In a forest not too far from the chaos, Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash and Yondaime Hokage, is fighting a masked man. Minato then asks, "The only person I know who can get in undetected is Madara Uchiha, so who are you?" The masked man in question replies "Perhaps I am Madara Uchiha. It seems like you have earned your title of Hokage, but know this, the Kyuubi will be mine once more". 'Madara' then vanishes in a swirl. Minato then gazes off into the distance and sees the Kyuubi, "_I have to get there fast. I'm sorry Kushina, but I must use 'that' technique_", and vanishes in a yellow flash.

*Scene Change*

"Yondaime-sama's here!" "We're saved!" Shouts of joy are heard as Minato Namikaze makes his appearance in front of the kitsune. "Everyone stay back and get medical attention! I'll take care of the rest." Many were questioning his order but did so hesitantly, wanting to help the blonde man defeat the beast instead.

**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU**. In a giant plume of smoke, a large orange toad appears with Minato on his head, holding the newborn twins.** "What the hell Minato? Is that the Kyuubi over there?"** "Yes it is Gamabunta" was the reply to the giant toad. "I don't have much time to explain, but the Kyuubi is attacking, and I need you to hold it off long enough so I can seal him into my daughters." **"Bastard, fine I'll help, but you better not die on me Minato"** "No promises Gamabunta".

The fight was a brutal one, Gamabunta received a scar along his eye and many nin were tired, injured, or dead. "Gamabunta, get closer to him." **"It's harder than it looks, you know that right? But I'll do what I can"** Minato then started a set of hand-seals, and clapped his hands. **SHIKI FUUIN**. Moments later, a ghastly, demonic entity appeared behind the blonde Hokage.

**"Mortal, why have you summoned me?" **The chilling voice of the Shinigami was heard. "I ask you to split the Kyuubi and seal the two parts into my daughters." **"Very well then."** That was all that needed to be said for the Kyuubi to go berserk, **"NINGEN, YOU WILL NOT SEAL ME AGAIN!"** That made everyone in the village shiver and pale at the killer intent being released, those far away or in evacuation sites included. The Kyuubi tried to kill the Yondaime, but before his claw reached the Hokage's chest, the fox felt itself being split into its Yin and Yang chakra and being sealed into the two babies.

**"Mortal, the deed is done, and you should know the price of summoning me. Are you ready?"** "I-",he hesitated as memories of all his friends flashed into his mind. _"Jiraiya-sensei, Tsunade, Sarutobi, Kakashi"_ "I-", then memories of his family flashed. _"Kushina-chan, Naruto-kun"_ Finally, the picture of his two newborn daughters in his mind. _"Natsuki, Kasumi"_

"I am not ready", he was able to stammer out. He felt horrible, and like a coward. What Hokage can't give his life to save his village and family? The voice of the Shinigami disrupted his thoughts, **"Very well then, but know this, your natural life span shall be cut by 10 years."** "Huh?" was all Minato could say to it. **"Everything comes at a cost, and I am the Shinigami, Goddess of Death. I'll get your soul eventually." **Minato only nodded with a stupefied expression on his face, unable argue with that logic. But hey, why should he? He got to live and watch his children grow up with his wife.

The Goddess of Death then turned towards the Hokage Monument, whispering few strange words into the wind. At last, the goddess disappeared as if she was never there to begin with.

**"Well then kid, I'll see you around soon. Just don't make me fight another biju, ever. Oh, and good luck explaining this to everyone and all the paper work you'll get from this." **The giant toad gives a hearty laugh even though he could have died that day, and disappears in another giant plume of smoke._ "Oh Kami, how am I going to explain this to Naruto, or better yet, Kushina?"_ The very thought of having to explain that he made the twins the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi to his wife was frightening to him. He visibly paled at the thought and started hearing people running towards him as he fell to the ground, lovingly holding the two saviours of Konoha.

* * *

END CHAPTER

A/N: So how'd you guys think of this chapter? Feel free to review and give constructive criticism, but any flaming will be deleted.


	2. Ch 2 Beginnings

A/N: I'm actually really surprised at how the first chapter was received. Yes I did read your reviews and I would like to thank you guys for reviewing.

**windfox90, Jgreek, legacy of the demented:** Thank you very much for the support! Though I kinda can't tell for the last one, sorry "-.-**  
**

**Crisdslasher:** Again, thank you for the comment and the suggestion; I'll consider that pairing, though I might have issues going about it.

**Mzr90:** I do agree with you about what you said about Minato and Kushina. The fact that he doesn't even try to prepare just in case things don't go as planned just doesn't seem like a fatherly thing to do. Anyways for the pairings, thank you for the suggestions.

*Before the chapter starts: Guys, two things.

First, do you want me to do scheduled releases for my story? Or do you want me to release the next chapter whenever it's done?

Secondly, Naruto will be receiving dual zanpakutos. I want you all to give your suggestions about this. The zanpakutos can be custom made or from the canon Bleach. I have already decided but I may change it if enough people want a different pair than what I used. Gotta love mythology for ideas.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu names**

* * *

**Ch. 2 Beginnings of a Ninja**

* * *

*Time Skip – A Few days later*

Now fully recovered from the attack of the Kyuubi, Minato is now standing on top of the Hokage Tower holding Natsuki and Kasumi, along with Kushina and Sarutobi Hiruzen. All of the villagers gathered near to hear the announcement. Among the crowd were Naruto and Jiraiya.

"People of Konoha, we have suffered a huge loss from the Kyuubi's attack. Before the attack, my wife gave birth to twins. I brought the two to the fight, and I sealed the Kyuubi in them. People, the saviours of Konoha are Kasumi Uzumaki-Namikaze and Natsuki Uzumaki-Namikaze!"

The entire crowded cheered for the people on the tower, while Naruto had a smile on his face. He was happy that he had little sisters who can look up to him, and happy that his family is alright.

* * *

*Time Skip – One Year after the Kyuubi Attack*

* * *

"Tou-san, Kaa-san! Can you train me to become a ninja?" said boy with spiky blonde hair named Naruto, who is 5 years old now.

"Why do you want to be a ninja? Do you want to be like your tou-san and kaa-san?" came the reply by Naruto's parents.

"Sure, but I really want to be strong so I can protect Kasumi-imouto and Natsuki-imouto!" Naruto finished with a big grin that could split his face. Minato and Kushina found it cute that he wanted to protect his little sisters, and after a very short debate, agreed to training him early.

"Sure, why not? You have 2 years before you need to go to the Ninja academy. Let's start tomorrow okay?" Naruto gave a quick, cheerful nod to his parents, and went to Kasumi's and Natsuki's room to keep them company.

* * *

*Time Skip – Next Day*

* * *

At the back of the Namikaze compound, two blondes can be seen, one is a child while the other an adult.

"Alright Naruto, what can you tell me about chakra?" Minato gave a simple question to start.

"Um, chakra is the energy that ninjas use right?" Naruto nervously replied.

"Yes it is, but chakra is the energy of life, a combination of the physical and spiritual energies. Your body makes chakra with the chakra coils in your body. It moves in your body using the chakra circulatory system. With the circulatory system, you can mould and channel chakra to your tenketsu, or your chakra points. Take hand-seals for an example, they are used to push your chakra into a certain form to do jutsu. Did you get all of that?" Minato lectured, and inwardly hoping not to repeat it. Naruto merely nodded to signal for Minato to continue.

"There are 12 hand-seals that you need to know. The seals are Tori, I, Inu, Tatsu, Ushi, Tora, Hebi, Ne, Uma, Saru, U, and Hitsuji. I'll show how to do them now." Minato stated and slowly performed all twelve hand-seals for Naruto to copy while fixing them when there's a mistake.

"Now Naruto, I want you to practice them until you can do all twelve at a random order without doing them wrong. We'll work on speed later okay?" Naruto smiled and yelled "Yosh, I can do this!" Minato and Kushina both hearing this chuckled at his enthusiasm, and left Naruto to train as they heard the babies crying.

"Naruto-kun, we're going to the park later with the twins, do you want to come?" Kushina called out about an hour later. "Sure why not?" was Naruto's reply, as he went to go clean up.

* * *

*Scene Change*

* * *

The park was filled with people, giving it a lively atmosphere. People from the shinobi clans, and the civilian clans came where with their children. Of those Naruto recognized the Naras, Yamanakas, Akimichi, Uchiha, and the Hyuuga clans where there with children. The children who were in shinobi clans were close together, and so the Namikaze walked towards them.

* * *

*With Naruto*

* * *

"Hello, I'm Namikaze Naruto and I'm 5 years old. It's nice to meet you." said Naruto.

"I'm Uchiha Itachi, and I am six years old. This is my little brother Sasuke, and his twin Sayuri, they are 1 year old. It is nice to meet you as well" came the rather quiet, but cheerful reply of the now known Itachi.

"Sugoi, they're so cute!" Naruto had stars in his eyes after seeing the Uchiha twins.

"I agree" came the voice of Kushina who was with Mikoto Uchiha.

"Kaa-san" was the reply of both boys.

* * *

*With Minato*

* * *

"Hey it's been a while Shikaku, Yoshino, Inoichi, Choza."

"Indeed it has, but it a tad troublesome coming here" came the reply of Shikaku, who began to cower in fear as Yoshina seemed to pull out a frying pan from somewhere."You bet it wasn't troublesome." Everyone there laughed at Shikaku's expense.

"So here with the babies I take?" Minato asked them.

"My kid's Shikamaru, Choza's boy is Choji, and Inoichi's girl is Ino" Shikaku said rather plainly.

"All of them are one now, so it seems like they'll be in the same class" said Inoichi, who smiled at the thought of having all their kids together.

"Ne Minato, aren't your twins one as well? Choza questioned the blonde.

"Yeah they are, seems like it'll be a great class for them, hopefully paperwork won't be so bad by then" Minato said, and everyone had to agree with the man, and pity him for the amount of paper work he does.

* * *

*A little Later*

* * *

"Well it's starting to get late, I guess I'll see you guys soon." Choza said, as he left with baby Choji who was fast asleep.

"We best do the same, we'll see you some other time then" Everyone nodded and left for their homes.

"Kushina, Naruto! Time to go!" Minato called for his wife who had the twins, and Naruto. Soon, the two came and the family returned to the Namikaze compound for the evening.

The next 2 years was much like this for Naruto, learning to become a ninja, watching over his sisters, going to the park, helping his family, and just enjoying life and all it had to offer. However, he never noticed his parent's attention slowly shifting to his sisters as time went on.

*Time Skip – 3 Years after K.I* (A/N, Kyuubi Incident is going to be referred to as K.I)

Now seven year old Naruto is in his room, reminiscing on the last two years of his training, and thinking about the Ninja Academy that he will be going to next week.

_"I learned a lot so far, hopefully tou-san and kaa-san didn't see 'that' part of my training."_ Yes, Naruto is very cautious about who sees his training. He can be considered a prodigy by the few that truly know him, though no one knows the secret training he's been doing. Naruto smiles as he thinks back to when he started his little 'project'.

* * *

*Flashback – After First day of Training*

* * *

_After his first day of training, Naruto found himself wondering about using a different type of energy instead of chakra. "Hmm, Tou-san did say that chakra is the physical and spiritual energies combined together. I wonder if it's possible to use one of the halves. Maybe I can try it later? I guess I can start with physical, then spiritual. Time to hit the library!"_ And so Naruto went to the library, looking for books about chakra and energy. However, he returned empty handed, with many questions. He gave up on physical energy thinking that it would many increase physical abilities and his taijutsu. So he decided to focus on learning about the spiritual energy.

* * *

-Day Two of Training-

* * *

Once again, we find Naruto with Minato at the clan's training ground.

"Alright Naruto, I want you to meditate until you feel a warm energy circulating your body, and bring it out" Minato explains.

Naruto nodded and sat cross-legged on a patch of grass. Closing his eyes and taking a breathe, Naruto begins to meditate. Kushina who was holding the sleeping twins, sees this from the living room, and joins Minato. "And here I thought he wouldn't be able to sit still for 5 seconds..." Kushina said out loud, while Minato nods and says "Seems like he takes after me more, I wonder what the twins will be like for this." Minato ponders and lets Kushina think on it as well.

A soft blue glow surrounded Naruto as he easily brought out his chakra. Both parents' eyes widened at this for two main reasons. One, he was able to unlock his chakra in less than 5 minutes, though the average time was 10 minutes. The second reason was at the amount of chakra he had and the odd blue glow.

"So did I do it?" Naruto asked, snapping both adults out of their stupor. Kushina breaks the silence and says "Um, good job Naruto. You seem to have high genin chakra already." Minato then rejoins the conversation "Mhmm... I'll show you how to do three basic jutsu today. You'll need them for the academy." Naruto simply gave a smile and nodded. Kushina then decided to put the twins to bed and left the training ground.

Minato then starts to do the hand-seals for the Bunshin no Jutsu, the Henge no Jutsu, and the Kawarimi no Jutsu. He did them slow enough for Naruto to see and copy, then explained how each jutsu worked. Afterwards he left to let Naruto train.

Naruto was able to do each technique very quickly, then opted to learn how to do them with less hand-seals. Naruto's training took up the rest of the day, as his later training sessions do.

* * *

Translations:

**Bunshin no Jutsu**: Clone Technique

**Henge no Jutsu**: Transformation Technique

**Kawarimi no Jutsu**: Replacement Technique

* * *

So how did you like it? Review it if you would like, favourite or follow it if you want, it really helps me write this story. Thanks


	3. Ch 3 Blades and Knowledge

A/N:

Thank you all for your support! The fact that people actually do read my story motivates me greatly.

**Bankai777**: Thank's for the suggestion, and to what you said about Minato and Kushina, you'll just have to continue reading to find out :)

**dbzsotrum9**: To answer your question, no it won't be an overnight thing. Minato and Kushina will grow more distant from Naruto as their attention shifts to the twins. Eventually yes they will neglect him and there will be an event that reinforces it soon. Can't say if it will be good enough though T.T

**windfox90**: Thank you for the input on the zanpakuto :D

**rivereagles999**: Again thank you for your input. I'll try to expand on the events that will occur in later chapters as I get better at writing.

Because this question wasn't asked in chapter 2, i'll post it again.

Do you want me to do scheduled releases, or do you want me to post the next chapter whenever it's ready?

* * *

Without further delay, enjoy chapter 3!

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu names**

* * *

**Ch.3 - Blades and Knowledge  
**

* * *

**Flashback**

* 2 Years after K.I*

It was night time, and Naruto is finally able to use his spiritual energy, or 'Reiyoku' as he called it. Now he's just lying on his bed, thinking about his new ability to manipulate "Reiyoku" or spiritual energy.

_"Well at least I know how it's done, but I can't really use it so far. So far I have 3 D-ranked jutsu, 4 C-ranked jutsu, and a B-ranked jutsu. I think I have enough jutsu, but I should probably start making some techniques with my spiritual energy."_

And so Naruto got up, and went to his desk to write down notes for some techniques.

_"Hmm... maybe I can have more than just offensive techniques"_ Naruto then started writing notes on his paper, thinking ways to divide the spirit techniques. _"Yeah, maybe this can work"_ Naruto quickly wrote the idea on the paper. The paper now said 'Bakudo' or Restraining Techniques and 'Hado' or Offensive Techniques.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he heard his sisters cry. He quickly sealed the page into a seal he made on his hand (which was quite useful for him), and ran out of his room and to the room across the hall.

Inside his sisters' room were many things. The walls were painted a bright yellow, and the carpet was a deep purple. There were an assortment of toys around the room, though the one that caught Naruto's eye was the orange fox plushie that was being held by the twins. There was a very small bed with fences around it, and the twins were crying their lungs out. As soon as Naruto went over to the bed, the twins stopped crying and giggled while calling "Onii-chan!", as if happy that Naruto was there for them. Naruto then decided to pull up a chair and stay with them until they went back to sleep.

Naruto was feeling rather tired himself, so he went back to his room and instantly fell asleep when he lied on his bed. However, another had other plans for him.

*Mindscape*

Naruto was pulled into a place, it was an interesting place to say the least. The sky was blue like morning, and there were massive buildings around. What struck Naruto as the most odd, was that he was standing on the side of one of these buildings. After wandering for what seemed like an hour, he heard a voice call him.

"Can you hear me?" a distorted voice said.

"Can you hear us, can you call out to ... and to ... ? a second voice said. Naruto couldn't distinguish the voice either.

"I'm sorry? Can you run that by me again?" Naruto called back to the voices, on his guard, not knowing where they were.

Two dark figures appeared before him out of nothingness. "It's a shame you can not hear us, even though you are the first to unlock this power"

"What power, who are you?" Naruto questioned

"Very well then, the least we can do for you is explain. We are your zanpakuto, the manifestation of the part of your soul made for battle" the second figure explained. "We live together, we fight together, and we die together. When you know our names, only then with you unlock our true powers. It is a shame that you can't hear us, even if you are the only human to awaken this power."

"Once you reawaken, you'll see two blades by you. You should probably seal them in that tattoo of yours kid. You should consider learning how to use a weapon as well." the first figure said.

"Wait, how do I know you're not lying?" Naruto asks, while keeping his guard up.

"Naruto, we're a part of your soul, we can't lie to you even if we tried" Naruto only nodded dumbly.

"Well we'll see you in the morning or something." Naruto nodded back to him and left.

*Real world*

Naruto immediately saw the two blades resting by his side, and he quickly sealed them into the seal on his hand. He'll take a look at the blades and learn more about this zanpakuto business tomorrow.

* * *

**Flashback End**

* * *

_"Ah good times kid." _the first voice said.

_"You know, you haven't asked for our names since then right?" _the second zanpakuto said._  
_

_"Hey, whatever requirements I need, you'll drag me into the mindscape for your names once I reach them." _Naruto replied back to his zanpakuto.

_"True true, anyways, how are your Bakudo and Hado techniques going?"_ the second zanpakuto asked.

_"You should know, but the ones that I already thought of should be easily used when I'm using you."_ It was true, Naruto made many 'Kido' techniques as he called them. He divided the Kido into Bakudo and Hado, just so he can have a general name for them. He's made 9 Bakudo techniques and 31 Hado techniques, and instead of using hand-seals (as they were useless for manipulating spiritual energy), he decided to use incantations, though he doesn't need them for the first few. As far as control goes, he's okay, since he can use his reiyoku to fly, if only for a minute, as well as sensing people.

_"Anyways, we'll be doing more sword practice tomorrow."_ The first spirit said.

Naruto simply laid on his bed until the night took him to his dreams.

* * *

***Timeskip - 3 Years after K.I***

* * *

Naruto was sitting at the kitchen with his sisters, eating breakfast. Minato was at the office _still_ doing last night's paperwork. Kushina was by the table and was about to say something until

"Onii-chan! Ninja school starts soon right?" both his sisters asked in creepy unison.

"Mhmm! I hope its not boring. Tou-san is bad at giving lectures." Naruto said out loud as he put the dishes in the sink. Kushina didn't really pay attention.

"Well I'll be going now, Kasumi-chan, Natsuki-chan, be good." Naruto chastised the sisters who more often than not caused a bit of trouble.

"Hai, play with us later okay?" they both said in unison, again.

Naruto shook his head at their antics and left for the academy.

"Oh he left?" Kushina asked scanning the room. The sisters sweatdropped at their mother's Nara-like attitude.

* * *

***Scene Change - Shinobi Academy***

* * *

"Naruto took a seat near the front of the class and fell asleep waiting for the teacher. When he heard someone open the door, he opened one eye to see a chunin walk to the front of the class.

"Class get into a seat" the teacher said, no one heard him save for one or 2 other people.

"Class, Get in a seat!" the teacher yelled this time, but still no one did as he ordered.

_"Demon Head no Jutsu"_ "CLASS, GET YOUR BUTT IN A SEAT NOW!" The teacher's head expanded and his voice cracked a window. Everyone paled and quickly got into a seat this time, while those who already were in a seat sweatdropped at the chunin's tactics.

"Hello class. My name is Iruka Umino, and I'll be your academy teacher for this year. I'll give you a brief rundown on what we'll do this year. We will be covering the history of Konoha's founding, weapons, and chakra. At the end of the year, we will be holding a test to see if you can go to the next grade at the academy, and if you feel that your ready, a much more difficult test to become a ninja." Iruka announced. Naruto inwardly sighed and thought _"Who the hell is going to be bad enough to fail the test to year two here? I can see why Itachi was able to graduate in one year, and earlier than his age group."_ "Now class please come up and get a textbook, we'll begin our first lesson shortly." Iruka said to the students as they went up and got a textbook.

*skip lecture*

"Well that's the end of the lesson, so please follow me outside. Bring your lunches." Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the lecture finally ended and ran to the small clearing beside the academy along with their lunches.

"Okay class, now were will show you how to properly throw a shuriken and a kunai, here's how you do it." Iruka went through the motions as the class watched with awe once the kunai hit the center of the target, though Naruto didn't really care seeing how he already knew it.

"Naruto, you seem awfully distracted, would you like to come up here and show the class what you can do?" Iruka said with a gleam in his eye, hoping for someone to embarrass themself in front of the class.

"Hai Ruka-sensei" Naruto drawled out in a lazy tone. He got up from his patch on the grass, got a kunai from the pile, and flicked it at the center. What Iruka noticed was it was stuck rather deeply in, about 3 inches deep.

"Was that good?" Naruto questioned in his Nara-like voice. Iruka only nodded, not trusting his voice to hide his shock.

"Anyways, get yourselves in groups of three and go over to a target." The class scrambled to find a group. Naruto on the other hand, walked towards two people who seemed to be making their way to him. One was a boy with short brown hair who looked a little sick, and the other was a girl with long purple hair that stopped at beneath her shoulders.

"Hi, I'm Uzuki Yugao, and this is Gekko Hayate. Do you want to be in a group?" the now known Yugao asked

"Sure why not? I'm Namikaze Naruto by the way." The three made their way to an open target, while slowly getting to know each other and becoming friends.

* * *

***Timeskip - End of the day***

* * *

Instead of going home to tell his family about his first day at the academy, Naruto decided to visit Itachi and his siblings. Naruto has gotten rather close to the Uchiha family throughout the years, and saw Itachi and his siblings as a family. Naruto hummed a happy tune as he walked towards the Uchiha Compound.

* * *

*******Scene change - Uchiha Compound***

* * *

As Naruto arrived at the Uchiha Compound, the two guards at the gate called out to him. One was a man while the other was a woman.

"Ohayo Naruto-san! Here to see Itachi again?" The man asked.

"Mhmm, do you know where he is?" Naruto asked.

"He should be in the forest with Sasuke and Sayuri. If you get their quickly, you might be able to catch them" The female guard answered. Naruto said a quick 'Thank you' and ran towards the forest Itachi was at. Two minutes later, he arrived to see Itachi with his siblings coming back.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun" "Ohayo Tachi-nii" The older two of the group greeted each other.

"Nii-san, who is this?" Sayuri asked.

"Sasuke-kun, Sayuri-chan, this is Namikaze Naruto. He's one of my best friends." Naruto mumbled something about loners as the younger pair bowed to him.

"Itachi's told me a lot about you two, he says your the cutest brother and sister ever." Naruto smiled as the two hid behind Itachi's leg to hide their embarrassment.

"So Naruto-kun, what brings you here?" "Just wanted to come by since I just finished the first day of the academy. I can see why you of all people were able to become a genin after one year." Itachi smiles and nods. "Anyways shouldn't you get back to your clan's compound? You know, check on the sisters." Itachi asks.

"Oh yeah, should probably go now, it's almost supper time anyways. I'll see you later Itachi. Bye Sasuke, Sayuri." Naruto says and starts running to the gate and back to the Namikaze Clan compound.

* * *

***Time skip - Five Months Later***

* * *

It's the end of the week, and Naruto decided to spend the rest of the day at the Library, but only after he dropped his things at home. At the door, Naruto was about the reach for the handle, but overhears some voices talking inside. He then uses his reiyoku to sense the people talking. _"Ero-jisan is there, so is tou-san and kaa-san. Guess Natsuki-chan and Kasumi-chan are sleeping."_ Being the curious person he is, Naruto decides to listen in on the conversation.

-Inside the compound*

"Minato, the toads had another prophecy." Jiraiya, the Toad Sage begins the conversation.

"Well what's the prophecy?" Minato asks, slightly annoyed that his sensei won't tell him the secret of defeating the Kage's Bane; paperwork.

"The elder toad mentioned the _children_ of prophecy. He said 'Children of strong parents... guided by the love and care of the family', and then rambled some nonsense about an ancient power from before the Rikudo Sennin re-emerging into the world."

Kushina then decided to give her two ryo about the matter " So the children of the prophecy, could it be Kasumi-chan and Natsuki-chan?"

Minato and Jiraiya nodded "It seems so. But what about this 'ancient power' you told us?"

Kushina says "Seems incredibly vague 'ttebane!" but immediately realizes the mirth in the air and the presence of her verbal tick, and vanishes from the living room, avoiding any teasing and embarrassment.

"But yeah, that was the prophecy this time. If you want my opinion on this, you should start training the twins soon, maybe when their four. That way, they will both have enough experience in fighting if they become genin with their age group. Well, I must be off to do some glorious research. It doesn't do itself." Jiraiya said with a perverted giggle at the end and disappears in a plume of smoke all while leaving a pile of leaves where he once stood.

Minato simply shakes his head at his sensei's antics and ponders on the last part of the prophecy.

*With Naruto*

Outside the door, Naruto is also thinking about the prophecy. _"Could it be referring to Reiyoku? I mean I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's unlocked it from what 'they' were saying. Meh, suppose we'll find out as time goes on. That technique Ero-jisan did was cool though. I think it's called the Shunshin no Jutsu. Hey I wonder if I can make something like that with spiritual energy instead."_ Naruto shakes these thoughts out of his head and enters the house, giving a quick 'Hello' to his father, and running up to his room to drop all of his stuff down. Instead of going to the Library, Naruto decided to work on a speed technique for reiyoku.

Unsealing his notebook from the hidden seal on his hand, Naruto began thinking of what the technique was supposed to do. _"From what I saw, the shunshin isn't really for combat. It takes too much time to use. So what if... what if it was a short burst of speed instead?"_ Naruto wrote his thoughts on the empty page in the book. _"If I expect to use this in a battle, it shouldn't take a lot of energy, and the speed of the move itself should be very fast."_ Naruto wrote more notes down and then resealed his book and pen. Before leaving to an empty training ground, Naruto decided to check on his sisters. _"Hopefully, I'll be able to be strong enough to protect you, Kasumi-chan, Natsuki-chan"_ Naruto tucks them in and leaves the room.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san. I'm going out for a bit." Naruto says "Oh, sure" Minato says, and Naruto runs out the door.

* * *

***Scene Change - Training Ground 7***

* * *

Finally finding an empty training ground, Naruto begins his trials. Naruto then takes a step while channeling a burst of spiritual energy into his front foot. The result, was a tad painful. Naruto flashes from his place and runs into a tree head first. "Ow, ow, ow. Too much reiyoku" Naruto cried out in pain while holding his head. _"I should probably get better control, maybe flying can help." _"Indeed it can Naruto." came the voice of one of my zanpakuto, adding to my thoughts. "At least I know it's possible, I think I'll try to fly for 10 minutes without falling." His zanpakuto decided to cheer him on as he tried.

So Naruto did just that, he channeled reiyoku in the shape of a disk under his feet and flew 5 feet in the air. It seemed much easier than before, and he was able to accomplish his goal an hour before supper time, though he used up about half of his spiritual energy. _"Might as well try the speed technique again."_ This time, Naruto aimed for 25 feet ahead of him and repeated the steps he made for himself. His result was much much better than his first time, deciding to test this, Naruto started doing consecutive 'steps' and did so without crashing.

"Okay, that worked out perfectly!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing to his heart's content as he joyfully unsealed his note and opened to his first page, where all the categories of his reiyoku skills are. So far only 'Bakudo' and 'Hado' occupied the page. _"Hey guys, what should I call this new technique?"_

"You mean the speed technique? How 'bout the 'Flying Screen Strider'?" the first zanpakuto said.

"Too long, you should name it something shorter but fancier, like that 'Hiraishin' thing your dad uses" the second zanpakuto added.

"Eh, one's rather long, and the other's just unnecessary. How about 'Shunpo'? It has a nice ring to it" Naruto replied back. Both of his zanpakuto agreed with his decision.

"Ah 'Flash Step', it does sound nice ne?" The second spirit said. In Naruto's mind, the first spirit nodded and smiled.

"Kid, you should try getting home with it." the spirits both said in unison, reminding Naruto of his twin sisters who would often do the same.

Naruto nodded to his 'roommates' and quickly wrote 'Shunpo' underneath Hado and resealed the notebook. Naruto then flashed back to the Namikaze Compound, laughing slightly maniacally as he flashed in and out of sight.

* * *

***Scene Change - Namikaze Compound***

* * *

"Naruto where were you?" His mother questioned with a stern tone as he walked through the door.

"I told tou-san, I just went out for a while." He replied back, hoping nothing bad happened while he was gone.

His mother merely nodded but did not release the stern gaze until Naruto walked away to get cleaned up for supper.

"Hey Minato-kun, Naruto. Get the girls 'cause suppers ready!" His mother yelled. Naruto saw Minato with the twins in the hallway and hurried down to the kitchen, hoping not to face the red-head's wrath. _"Troublesome"_ was the thought on their minds.

-At the Nara Compound-

_"Troublesome woman"_ was the thought on Shikaku's mind as he washed the dishes. Yoshino his wife, somehow knowing what his thoughts were, pulled out a frying pan and smacked him across the face, instantly knocking the poor man unconscious.

-Namikaze Compound-

Supper went by in relative silence, besides the twins talking a little loudly about their day to the rest of their family. Naruto sweatdropped as the twins finished eachother's sentences. Minato was simply talking to Kushina about some of the crap he dealt with at the office and Naruto just ate and cleaned after the twins.

Now it was nighttime, and Naruto was lying on his bed, too giddy and excited after completing what was easily his favourite technique, the Shunpo. His two favourite parts about the Shunpo was that it made next to no noise, which he assumed will only get quieter as he used it, and it was a possible technique to use in combat. Unable to sleep, Naruto decided to refine his sensing technique more. "Open your senses" he closed his eyes and mumbled to himself. What caught him off guard, was that he was able to sense two people, who seemed to have kidnapped some children; clan heirs was his first guess. The spirits of his zanpakuto smiled at him, finally getting a chance at some action, persuaded Naruto to spy on them, and maybe intercept them before the two unknown ninja meet up.

Quickly getting dressed, while trying not to wake anyone up, Naruto climbed out of his window, while making sure it stays open, and flashed out of existence towards the first nin.

* * *

Translations

******Reiyoku**:Spiritual Energy

**Zanpakuto**: Soul cutter

**Bakudo**: Way of Binding

**Hado**: Way of Destruction

**Kido**: Demon Art

**Hiraishin**: Flying Thunder God Technique

* * *

Chapter 3 Finally Done!

So how'd you like it? I'm surprised it was as long as it was, considering that my other chapters are about 1,000 words.

Review? Fav? Follow?


	4. Ch 4 Awakening the Soul, Beginning Again

A/N:

Wow I'm getting better at this! Thank you for your support and suggestions!

**dbzsotrum9**: Yes thank you for noting that. I'll keep that in mind, but note that Naruto's shunpo will improve over time, but I'll make sure that it isn't on the same level as the Hiraishin, seeing as one's a speed technique and the other is considered a space/time ninjutsu.

**bankai777**: Well, seems like you'll get your wish, or at least part of it.

**malymac**: I may decide to, but only after the twins' training to use the Kyuubi's chakra.

**ZariGS**: Thank you for the welcome, and for pointing out the spelling/grammatical error in the first chapter. I will fix them as soon as I can.

Enjoy the chapter and the fight scenes!

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 4 Awakening the Soul, Beginning again  
**

* * *

*Near the Hyuuga Estate*

Naruto followed the nin's trail using Shunpo, and was led to the Hyuuga Estate and saw a man lying on the ground, with a few injuries. As Naruto got closer, he recognized the man as Hyuuga Hizashi, younger twin to Hyuuga Hiashi.

"Hizashi-sama! What happened here?" The blonde asked the injured man. "Hey someone get over here! Hizashi's hurt!"

"Kumo-nin... Hinata-sama... hurry..." was all the Hyuuga Branch member said before falling unconscious. Then a pair of Hyuuga Branch members arrived at the scene.

"What happened here Naruto-san?" "Hizashi-sama said something about a kumo-nin and Hinata. I'm going to follow the Kumo-nin, you two get Hizashi-sama to the hospital" and then Naruto vanished, trailing the Kumo ninja, and leaving the two Branch members stunned at the boy's speed.

* * *

***Scene Change - Forest Near Village Gate***

* * *

_"Guess now's a good time to test some Bakudo on someone other than Itachi and my own clones.__"_ Naruto thought as he came closer to the stationary nin, who seemed to be waiting for someone.

"**Bakudo #4: Hainawa**!" Naruto shouted as a yellow rope shot out of his hand and binded the Kumo-nin. Surprised by the attack, the ninja dropped a little girl who seemed to be around the same age as his sisters while Naruto flashed behind the ninja and knocked him out, and gracefully catching the little Hyuuga heiress. Hinata seemed fine, but just sleeping, Naruto decided to quickly bring Hinata back to the Hyuuga compound and rush back to the clearing.

Very soon, another ninja emerged from the trees. He wore a Kumo headband which was covering his right eye and had bandages cover the top of his head. Naruto recognized him as the Kumo ninja that came to form a peace treaty if he remembered the conversation at dinner correctly.

_"Damn, I don't think I can beat this guy, especially if he's a jonin. I can only use the first four Hado attacks without the incantation and the first 9 Bakudo techniques without incantation. Even if I can use them at full power, chances are this guy can easily dodge them." _Only then had he noticed that the man held a sleeping Sayuri, and saying Naruto got mad was a big understatement.

_"Sayuri-chan? DAMN I have to beat this guy, but if I kill him, then we'll get a ton of trouble for this. I best try to ambush him and hope he gets hit with a Bakudo spell."_ Naruto quickly got behind the Kumo nin, but the man noticed as Naruto was about to strike.

"Come out kid, I know your there." the jonin called out to Naruto, attempting to get a rise. He was sorely disappointed as no one came out. He scanned the area for his partner, only to find that he couldn't find him. While he was distracted with his thoughts, Naruto was very quietly doing the incantation for Bakudo #30.

Getting restless, the Kumo nin threw a kunai where he thought Naruto was, and luckily for Naruto, he was able to react fast enough and jump while finishing the incantation.

"**Bakudo #30: Shintotsu Sansen**!" In the air, Naruto quickly drew a triangle with his hand which was now glowing yellow. The points of the triangle grew into fang-like protrusions, and shot off at the kumo ninja. However, the man was easily able to dodge, so Naruto pointed at him and silently performed '**Hado #4: Byakurai**'. A white lightning bolt shot off from Naruto's fingers, nearly piercing the man, but sadly hitting a log. _"Damn Kawarimi no jutsu." _Cursing himself for losing sight of the enemy, he got a hard kick to the back and flew towards a tree.

"What the hell? A kid? Sorry kid, I can't let you go now." The man said while slowly drawing out what seemed to be a tanto. Naruto coughed up some blood as he shakily stood up, desperately thinking of ways to save Sayuri. Naruto then unseals one of his zanpakuto, it had a circular guard that had the kanji for 'Maelstrom King' and 'Storm God' on each side of the guard. There was a black hilt-decoration, but was an average daito classed sword beyond that. Naruto instinctively dodged a jutsu using shunpo and flashed behind the man, attempting to slash his back. His plan failed as the man was able to block with his tanto and counter-attack. Naruto barely dodged the strike and shunpo-ed away, putting some distance to hopefully recover some of his reiyoku, and instead switching to chakra.

Naruto performed the hand-seals for his jutsu and yelled "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**!" and immediately followed up with "**Futon: Daitoppa**!" and instantly the flames expanded. The nin's eyes widened at the giant flames but quickly said "**Suiton: Suijinheki**" to protect himself from the flames. Naruto then flashed to the nin's side and tried to slash him again, but missed as the kumo ninja dodged and gave a solid kick to the ribs. Naruto was sent backwards, low on chakra and spiritual energy, and his body found itself at the base of a tree.

"Kid, I'm not gonna lie, your pretty good. But this is where it ends for you." and in a burst of speed, the man was in front of Naruto about to slash at the blonde's neck. _"No. No! DAMN IT NO! I can't die here, I have to protect everyone. I'm sorry, I-"_

Naruto's depressing thoughts stopped here. This is where things get weird (or as weird as it can get in Naruto's life). Time froze. The jonin's movements stopped just with his weapon inches from Naruto's neck. Things lost their colour. The world Naruto saw was a world of black and white. _"What the hell? I am either very lucky, or I'm in a very bad position. It doesn't seem like a genjutsu."_

"It's best if we reveal ourselves." a male voice said as two figures manifested in front of Naruto.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded, even if he's in no condition to do so.

"Aww, you can't remember us. And to think you called us your partners and allies" another voice playfully said. This time it was a female.

"Your-" "Your zanpakuto yes. It seems that you were correct about us reaching you when you met our requirements." The male voice said.

"What was the requirement anyways?" Naruto asked, seriously questioning his life's normalcy. "A reason to fight. Back the when we first met, you did have a reason, but you never actually needed this power until now." answered the female.

"I am... Susanoo! God of Storms and of the Sea!" the male known as Susanoo pridefully declared.

"And I am Tsu..." the female said.

"I'm sorry? Can you repeat that, only got Tsu." Naruto asked.

"Oh pity, I was hoping for you to be able hear my name as well. Oh well, part of it is good for now." the female replied with a soft smile.

"Alright then Susanoo, Tsu-chan. What happens when I go back? I'd prefer to know what I'm doing." Naruto stated, the female spirit blushed oh so slightly

"When you return to the real world, you can call us to you, or me at least for now. Everything will come to you instinctively. How to wield us, and how to use my basic abilities. We'll go into more details later when your not going to die. So for now, go back and SAVE YOUR OWN SKIN!" Susanoo yelled showing a bit of anger at the end.

"Now, what?" The man asked.

"Guess we can watch and see how little Naruto does. By the way, you still owe me a mirror" the female spirit replies with a pout at the end. Susanoo grumbles and disappears as he mumbled something about women and their accessories. 'Tsu' merely giggles and turns to leave as well.

-Time Unfreezes-

In Naruto's eyes, everything regained colour, but the enemy's movements seemed slowed down. Slow enough for Naruto to react to the incoming blade. Feeling re-energized, Naruto flash stepped a few feet back. Enough distance for Naruto to reach for the air to the right of him and have Susanoo materialize in his grasp. "**Susanoo!**" Naruto called out the name of his zanpakuto, and his blade flashed and changing it's form. The blade of the sword glowed blue, the guard changed and sprung out four spiral protrusions, while the hilt changed from black to navy blue. The enemy felt fear as he stared into the transformed blade, feeling the power from it.

Instinctively channeling spiritual energy into the zanpakuto, Naruto swung at the nin and shouted "**Tempest Wind Breaker**!" A gust of wind passed and a crescent shaped projectile was launched from the blade towards the man, all while Naruto hoping his plan worked. _"Success!"_ The man jumped into the air as Naruto planned, and was open for a surprise attack. A violent wind passed through the night as Naruto flashed behind the man and quickly said "**Bakudo #9: Geki**!"

The man glowed red and instantly became paralyzed. Naruto grabbed Sayuri from the man's hold as he fell to the ground. Just for extra measure, Naruto casted 'Bakudo #4: Hainawa' and knocked the kumo nin unconscious.

Naruto released Susanoo and let the blade vanish to nothingness. Out of breath and the adrenaline gone, Naruto sat down leaning against a tree with a still sleeping Sayuri in his lap and the enemy unconscious a few feet from him. Just then a team from the Uchiha Military Police Force arrived.

"Nice of you to show up, though you're a little late. Just take that kumo guys wherever you need him" Naruto said.

"Naruto-san, what exactly happened here?" The leader of the team asked.

"Well..." So, Naruto told them the events from his perspective, being extra careful not to mention is Reiyoku abilities.

"Well well, aren't you the hero?" The leader joked as he helped Naruto up. "You know your going to have to report this to Hokage-sama right?" the Uchiha policeman said. "Oh great, hopefully _I_ don't have to do any paperwork." Naruto mumbles, while the team of Uchiha that were at the scene laughed. The leader got serious and pointed at one of his teammates.

"Rookie, get Sayuri and make sure she get's back to Fugaku-sama's family." The rookie of the team did a mock salute and left with Sayuri.

"You two, get the prisoners to T&I on the double." The leader barked as he pointed to two of his men, both bowing and disappearing with the prisoners.

"Let's go make our report to the Hokage." The leader grabbed on Naruto's shoulder and did a leaf **shunshin** to the Hokage's office.

* * *

***Scene Change - Hokage's Office, Midnight***

* * *

"Uchiha-san, please give me your your report now" Minato who was tiredly sitting at his desk ordered.**  
**

"Hai Hokage-sama." The Uchiha then proceeded to give the report and Naruto's edited version from the boy's perspective.

"At the moment, the captured Kumo ninjas are staying with Ibiki." The Uchiha finished and stepped back. "Is everything true?" Minato questions, doubting his own son's abilities. Everyone from the Uchiha Police department nodded.

"Thank you, I'll call you tomorrow when we find out more about this. Naruto, please stay" Everyone bowed and left the room,leaving Naruto alone who shifted nervously at his father's gaze.

"So my dear son... Care to explain why you were out so late?" Naruto unconsciously paled at Minato's overly sweet tone, which was dangerously like his mother's just before something bad happened. "Well um.." "I'll decide your punishment tomorrow, so let's just go home." Naruto mentally thanked whatever divine interference saved him from whatever Minato planned for him. Minato then locked the office and disappeared with Naruto in a yellow flash.

* * *

***Time skip - Next Day, Noon***

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

The sound of a suffering boy was heard throughout the village. The villagers prayed for their own children, some realizing that they didn't even have any. The group from the Uchiha Police Department were talking at their headquarters when they heard this. The four that knew what happened last night chuckled at the poor boy's suffering, though were still impressed nonetheless at his abilities.

An ANBU messenger appeared before the head of the Uchiha Police. "The Hokage requests the presence of the team that was dispatched after the events last night." and instantly vanished. "Team D, Front and center! The Hokage wants you. Probably about what happened last night. Go!" The team nodded and shunshined to the Hokage's office.

-Scene change - Hokage's Office-

Team D appeared in the Hokage's office and saw Naruto swinging his feet on the couch, and the blonde Hokage viciously attacking the massive piles of paperwork. At this time Naruto got up and stood by one of the Uchiha.

"Hello there. Both of the kumo nin spilled their secrets under the the new rookie at T&I during the night. So I would like to congratulate all of you for doing an A rank mission, you too Naruto. You'll get your pay in the mission hall Dismissed!" "Hai Hokage-sama!" and then everyone left for the mission hall to get their pay. Minato gazed at all the paper work on his desks and says "Soon, soon I'll find the secret to defeating you. Damn you Hiruzen!"

-At the Sarutobi Compound-

Sarutobi Hiruzen was at a table, simply reading an odd orange book, giving off perverted giggles while wipping a nose bleed every now and then.

"Achooo! Damn, that was a platinum edition signed Icha Icha too!" Hiruzen was saddened to the core, but his sadness became swiftly became anger.

"I don't know why, but I just know this is your fault Minato!" Hiruzen yells, cursing his successor's name, all while desperately wiping the snot off of his precious smut. Asuma who was hearing this behind a wall sweatdropped at his father's actions. _"Must be his age catching up to him now."_ Asuma thought, holding in a chuckle as he walked away from the now senile old man.

* * *

***Time skip - End of Academy Year***

* * *

Naruto, who turned eight just recently, walked into the Shinobi Academy for what seems to be his last time there. In the class, Naruto found Yugao and Hayate (who are also 8 now) and immediately sat beside them.

"Yo" was Hayate's first reaction to seeing Naruto.

"Ohayo Hayate, Yugao-chan." Naruto quietly said.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun." spoke Yugao.

"So you guys *cough* gonna take the *cough* genin exam?*cough cough*" Hayate said, while trying not to cough. Naruto and Yugao nodded.

"Yep, hopefully we all pass and get on the same team! By the way, what kind of ninja do you want to be. Like what do you wanna specialize in?" Naruto said, seeming a lot more cheerful than before.

Yugao and Hayate looked at eachother and both said "Kenjutsu expert" creeping Naruto out as his sisters would more often than not do the same.

"Hmm.. maybe we should have a spar someday. Oh look, Ruka-sensei's coming." Naruto said, leaving both of his friends surprised. _"Since when did Naruto know kenjutsu?"_ was the thought on both their minds.

"Morning Class!" No one sat in their seats save the few who were already in their chairs. "CLASS!" No one stopped what they were doing._"Demon Head no Jutsu"_ "CLASS SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Finally, everyone else took their seats, slightly pale from seeing him use the 'Demon Head no Jutsu'.

"Anyway, as you know, today is exam day. We will begin with a written test, then go outside for Shuriken and Kunai throwing, and Taijutsu. Then we come back in for the Genjutsu and Ninjutsu exams." Iruka finished handing out the written test. "Afterwards, you may decide to leave and continue the academy, or stay here to take the Genin exam which is much, much more difficult. You have an hour for this test. You may begin now." Iruka finished explaining. Seconds later pencils went up and the students started writing.

Naruto sped through the test, writing all the right answers, and finished in 10 minutes. _"Damn, 50 minutes left."_ Naruto immediately wondered what to do, but saw his extra piece of paper. A gleam appeared in his eyes, when Yugao and Hayate saw this they rolled their eyes at Naruto's enthusiasm. However, when Iruka saw it, He immediately jumped, dropping every piece of paper piled on his hands, and cursing himself as he picked them up as the students looked up and laughed at his misfortune.

49 minutes later, Naruto's extra page is filled to the brim with drawings, on both sides. One corner had a cartoon-ish bunny rabbit Naruto so happily dubbed 'Chappy the Rabbit', and on the back side was an amazing pencil portrait of the Battle of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama at the Valley of the End. Yugao and Hayate both let out a giggle as they examined both sides of Naruto's 'artwork'.

"Time's over, hand them in and go outside to the target field." Naruto, feeling the need to make Iruka's last day with him go with a laugh stapled the page of art onto his test and handed it in and left for the target field.

-Skip Throwing test-

Naruto did fairly well, if you call 100/100 points for both shuriken and kunai fairly well. Yugao got 85/100 while Hayate got a 70/100. All in all the did pretty well.

"Class, for the Taijutsu test, you will be fighting a chunin from the academy. Your goal is to get one hit on them before the 3 minute mark. Let's start with Yamanashi Takeshi." Iruka explained and then called out a random student.

-Skip Taijutsu Test-

Again, Naruto got a perfect score, Hayate got second place while Yugao tied for third place.

-Skip Genjutsu Test- (A/N: I'm rather lazy, didn't think of a genjutsu test.)

Not surprisingly, Naruto, Yugao and Hayate walked out of the room with perfect scores, and went to the room where the Ninjutsu test was being held.

"Now, you will have to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu, Kawarimi no Jutsu and the Henge no Jutsu. Your scores depend on your performance so try your best!" Iruka said and called out another random student. This time was Naruto who fortunately or unfortunately went first.

"Naruto start with Bunshin, then Henge and lastly Kawarimi." "Hai Ruka-sensei!" Naruto mock saluted and then performed as told.

**Bunshin no Jutsu**! Naruto made 6 clones around him, all in perfect conditon, save for the intangibility.

**Henge**! In a poof of smoke, Naruto transformed into a perfect copy of Iruka, and dispelled the illusion.

**Kawarimi**! Feeling the need to show off a bit, Naruto swapped places with a nearby chair without calling out the jutsu or doing the hand-seals, and returned to his place.

"Once again, perfect Naruto." Iruka stuttered out, stunned in awe that an 8 year old academy student can do a jutsu without hand-seals or calling out the name of the jutsu, even if it was an academy technique. Naruto gave a very small smirk and walked back to his seat.

-Skip Ninjutsu Test-

The Ninjutsu test was much like that for the rest of the class. Hayate lost one point from the Henge and two points from the Bunshin, while Yugao only lost 1 point at the Henge and Bunshin no Jutsu.

"Well Class, that marks the end of the exam. Now when I call your name, please stay. If you wish to take the Genin exam, go to the room next door with the sign on it. If your name was not called, please leave."

-Time skip - After Roll call-

Naruto, Yugao, Hayate, and that Takeshi guy went to the Genin exam. A man wearing the jonin vest awaited the four.

"All right you four, I've read your files, and you will be all tested in your top two shinobi fields. The test will be a lot harder than the one you just took, so if you wish to leave, do so now." No one left. "Good, you guys are confident in your skills, but you're not arrogant. We'll have a good time here."

Takeshi was tested on his Genjutsu and his Taijutsu. He failed by 9% in total, but he did pretty well.

Hayate was tested on Kenjutsu and Taijutsu. He scored 87%, a bit over the passing mark.

Yugao was tested on Kenjutsu and ranged weapons. She scored 89%, 4% higher than the passing grade.

Then Naruto's turn came. His file said he was very well-rounded, usually getting perfect scores on everything. So they chose to test him on Kenjutsu, and Ninjutsu. Naruto smirked, while Yugao and Hayate stayed to see him fight with a weapon.

At the clearing, Naruto stood in front of an ANBU swordsman by the looks of it. Said ANBU had the mask of a tiger. "Kid, where's your bl-" He stopped talking has Naruto materialized Susanoo into his right hand. Both people fell in to their beginning stances, and so the wait began.

Two minutes of waiting, and Naruto figured that Tiger was testing his patience, but wanted him to make the first move, and so he complied. By using a Shunpo to get to his side and striking his ribs.

CLANG

Clang

Clang

The sounds of metal clashing metal was heard throughout the clearing. Hayate and Yugao watched the battle with awe, amazed at Naruto's abilities. The jonin was watching with a smirk, hoping for Naruto to give the ANBU a run for his money. The ANBU on the other hand, was having considering to have second thoughts about this assignment._ "Is this kid really an academy student? His motions are amazing, though his stances have a few holes and his footwork needs a bit of improvement. Still this kid should really be low chunin level by now. I don't care if he's the Hokage's kid, but WHO THE HELL'S BEEN TEACHING THIS KID? HE'S EIGHT FOR KAMI'S SAKE!_"was the thought on the ANBU swordsman's mind as he blocked every strike and every slash.

"Enough. Naruto, you passed with flying colours." Naruto smiled whereas the jonin gaped with his mough hanging, most likely because he personally know this ANBU and knew that he would never say anything like that. Yugao and Hayate cheered in happiness, more assured that they may all become genin together.

"Alright, Ninjutsu test. Let's see what you can do gaki." Tiger said.

Naruto wordlessly made two Bunshins and one Kage Bunshin. All for copies of Naruto shuffled around the ANBU with Naruto hanging back, doing a set of handseals with the Kage Bunshin beside him. "**Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!**" "**Futon: Daitoppa!**" Naruto then launched a large fireball, while his clone blew a wind jutsu into it, expanding the fireball twofold.

The masked ninja jumped in the air and started his own set of hand-seals. "**Katon: Hosenka!**" A dozen small fireballs rained down on the blonde. Then he felt a kunai to his neck.

"When did you get behind me?" Naruto asks.

"I hid some shuriken in the fireballs, and I switched with the one that was behind you." Tiger says. "Good job on the ninjutsu test, you pass as well." The masked nin said. "So, am I done here?" The jonin nodded and the ANBU vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Congratulations you three. All three of you passed the Genin exams! Go to the Hokage's office tomorrow at 10 am. Here are your hitae-ates. Stand tall and wear them proudly. You are officially Genin of Konoha!" The jonin said in a praising tone. The man took three headbands from the table and handed them to the new genin, all three had broad smiles on their face. Hayate decided to wear it on his forehead, and Naruto decided the same as well. Yugao, unable to decide how to wear her headband opted to tie it to her arm and decide later.

"Yatta! Hopefully we get into the same genin team!" Hayate exclaimed, being one step closer to his dream.

"I'm pretty sure we will, seeing as we're the only genin from our age group." Naruto said, unable to contain his excitement at the prospect of doing missions.

"So where do you guys wanna celebrate?" Yugao piped in.

"Don't know, don't care. Nothing can ruin this day!" Naruto declared, while the other two laughed and agreed.

* * *

Translations:

**Bakudo #4: Hainawa** - Crawling Rope

**Bakudo #30: Shintotsu Sansen** - Beak-Thrust Tri-Flash

**Hado #4: Byakurai** - Pale White Lightning**  
**

**Bakudo #9: Geki **- Strike**  
**

**Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu** - Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

**Futon: Daitoppa - **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough**  
**

**Shunshin **- Body Flicker**  
**

**Bunshin **- Clone Technique**  
**

**Henge **- Transformation Technique**  
**

**Kawarimi** - Body Replacement Technique**  
**

**Katon: Hosenka** - Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique

* * *

A/N:

Yep, Naruto gets Susanoo. As of now he only has two zanpakuto, but I'm sure you'd be able to guess. To finish the set, I may just make something happen later where Naruto gets a third zanpakuto. As I stated before, gotta love mythology. Thought I'd never finish a decent fight scene, let alone two. So how did you like it? Review, Favourite, Follow? Do what you want!


	5. Ch 5 Problems and Genin Days

Once again, I thank you all for your support! Motivates me to write more knowing that people actually like it!

**HouseMD93**: Note that this is a fanfic, but yes I will try to stick with bleach rules concerning reiyoku/zanpakuto. As for having two zanpakuto, I'm trying not to make Naruto seem incredibly powerful, though he is pretty strong for a genin. The only connection the two will have to the Mangekyo Sharingan techniques is Tsukiyomi, and that's pretty much the tortue genjutsu.

**dbzsotrum9**: For your first question, They did love Naruto the same as their twins, but after having their attention fixed on the twins for so long, they slowly began to forget about Naruto, leading to his eventual neglect. Well, they know he's there, but I guess they don't see him as a part of their family anymore. No they won't feel guilty, and they might not even notice. As for last names, Naruto will eventually drop his last name to cut ties from his family. For arranged marriages, I can't say much because I haven't planned much farther into my story. Sorry if I wasn't able to answer your questions clearly enough.

**mrnaruto242**: Thanks for the support and for now I will be updating fairly often, seeing as how I have very little homework as of now.

**Duelwarrior**: Thank you very much, and yes Naruto will grow up not being dependent on his family.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 5 Problems and the Genin Days  
**

* * *

**-Konoha Main Street, 5:00 pm-**

Naruto had just finished celebrating with his friends Yugao and Hayate. All three had gone their separate ways back to their homes. Now Naruto is walking along the main street of Konoha towards the Namikaze Compound. Naruto suddenly felt a malevolent aura from his home and started to flash towards his home. As he got near the pressure increased, and he stumbled on the rooftops as the face of an evil looking fox appeared into his mind. _"Kyuubi..." _Naruto growled at the thought of Kyuubi trying to hurt his sisters from within the seal.

-**Namikaze Estate**-

Naruto burst through the door to see his mother run up the stairs holding a box. Deciding to ask later, Naruto ran up the stairs, following Minato and Kushina to his sisters' room.

Kasumi and Natsuki laid in the bed, crying out to their family. Red chakra swirled around their bodies. Kushina opened the box and took a brush with some ink.

"Naruto stay back." Was the order from his mother.

"Why should I? It involves my sisters so I'd like to know what's going on." Minato and Kushina reluctantly agreed to let him stay and watch them.

Minato, taking the brush and ink from Kushina began writing a complex seal on a piece of paper, and once he finished, he repeated the seal on another piece of paper. He places both seals on the twins' forehead and quietly said "Fuin!" With that word, the red chakra stopped swirling around the girls and was split. Each part of the chakra was sucked into their stomachs, and the crying ceased.

"Jeez that was scary..." Minato unknowingly spoke out loud.

"Well what was the problem 'ttebane?" Kushina demanded.

Minato then turned to Naruto said "Naruto, leave now."

"I stand by what I said before, if it involves my sisters I want to know what's happening." Naruto proudly declared. Minato sighed and inwardly was thinking _"Why the hell won't he just listen for once... But still, I wonder why this happened. Better keep a closer eye on the twins..." _"Fine." Minato reluctantly allowed Naruto to hear his explanation.

"The seal itself is fine, but it seems that the Kyuubi's chakra was doing what it did to allow the seal do function, which is hold back the Kyuubi, while slowly mixing it's chakra into the twin's own chakra. Eventually the Kyuubi will die, but that's far down the road." Minato summed up the reasons of the events. Kushina and Naruto only nodded, not sure what they could do at the moment. Eventually, Minato and Kushina left the room, one returning to the office while the other to make go grocery shopping for supper. Naruto on the other hand decided to watch over the twins. He kissed both on the forehead and pulled up a stool and leaned on the bed, eventually falling asleep.

**-Unknown Mindscape-**

Naruto was abruptly woken up by falling on the ground. Standing up to gain his bearings, Naruto was clueless on what happened. First thing he was sleeping by the twins' bed, and the next thing he's in what appeared to be a sewer. Wandering for a bit, Naruto eventually found an area blocked off by massive pipes running up and down. At the center was a tag that merely said 'Seal'. Naruto's eyes widened, and scanned the room for Kyuubi and his sisters.

**"You won't find them here ningen..." **A deep, and painfully loud voice said.

"Reveal yourself Kyuubi, or whatever the hell your name is." Naruto tried to materialize Susanoo, only for a random generic sword to appear. Hiding his surprise, Naruto grasped the hilt anyways.

**"You're the first to speak to me like so, and to doubt that 'Kyuubi' is my name. I applaud you."** From behind the pipes, an orange, nine tailed fox appeared from the shadows.

"So then 'Kyuubi', where is this? 'Cuz it looks nothing like my mindscape..." **"It seems that having both of my jinchuuriki being near each other allows for a ,'connected', mindscape of sorts..." **"Kami, can't you tone your voice down or something? It's loud as hell."

**"Very well then, ningen. I shall reveal my human form to you. It's best you lose that sword, lest you lose a limb."** The Kitsune spoke, as it transformed in a flashed of light revealing a gorgeous woman that looked around her mid-twenties. She had fiery red hair, much like Kushina did. She stood at 5'5, and wore a red and orange kimono which did nothing to hide her voluptuous figure, or her C-cup bust. Had it not been for the orange fox ears which sprouted on her head and the nine orange and white-tipped fox tails, Naruto would easily have called her the most beautiful woman on earth.

**"Like what you see, Na~ru~to-kun?" **Naruto blushed at her tone; no longer was it the deep, thunderous voice, but now a soft, melodious tone and then gaped at her, mouth barely hanging. The KYUUBI of all people was flirting with him...

"Anyways, what should I call you?" **"Just call me Akane for now." **"Now, mind explaining what you did to my little sisters?" Naruto all but demanded.

**"Think of it this way. Demonic Chakra is much more potent than human chakra by the looks of it. I was just making sure that their bodies can adapt to using my chakra as well. This way, their chakra coils won't explode when using my chakra later on."** Akane explained, in the same boring tone that Iruka spoke with during a lecture.

"Hmm... Fine, but if you do _anything _ to hurt my sisters..." Naruto spiked his reiatsu and forced as much pressure as he could on Akane. "I _WILL _kill you." Naruto finished his statement by blasting his reiatsu at full force. He could have sworn the lady started to pale, if ever so slightly. Akane only nodded to his statement, mentally impressed by his resolve and caring attitude towards his sisters. Naruto then left the mindscape leaving the biju to think alone.

**_"Was that even chakra he was using? Regardless I am impress human. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye with my containers' lives..."_**

**-Scene Change Namikaze Estate-**

_"Well, that was interesting... I wonder what if I should prepare for my genin duties. Yeah I think I'll do that."_ So Naruto went off to his room, double checking his equipment for tomorrow._ "Kunai, check. Shuriken, might need some more. Exploding tags, check. Ninja Wire? Got that."_ After mentally reviewing his equipment, Naruto went to a 'corner store' called "Ten Points Wolf Shop".

When Naruto walked in, he was stunned. The number of equipment in this store was amazing. It had everything you could possibly need as a ninja. Shuriken, Kunai, sealing scrolls, clothes, and they even did custom orders for weapons. _"Kami this place is awesome."_ Naruto may have matured faster than most people, but he was still 8 years old.

"Hello, what can I do for ya?" A gruff, yet kind voice spoke.

"Yeah, I'm just here for a set of shuriken." Naruto replied to the man at the counter.

"Dan Higurashi at your service. Nice to meet 'cha." "Namikaze Naruto, likewise sir." Dan smiled at him and walked to the back, returning with a box of shuriken.

"That'll be 1000 ryo young man." Naruto nodded and pulled out 1000 ryo and handed it to the man. "Thank you very much sir."

"Just call me Dan kid. Have a nice day." And Naruto was off.

**-Time skip, That evening-**

After supper, Naruto was lying on his bed, just thinking, again. _"Now that I'm a genin, I'll get a jonin sensei right? In that case, I should avoid using any of my Kido. Shame I don't know many jutsu. Can't really ask tou-san or kaa-san since from what I heard from them, they'll begin training the twins, and hopefully, I'll get more time to make some new Kido techniques. Maybe I could should make a jutsu or two instead."_ So, Naruto pulled out a new notebook for his jutsu-making notes. He felt the need to keep them organized and separate jutsu from reiyoku techniques. _"Now, I know I have a wind affinity, but I should probably get one of those chakra paper thingys to make sure. I think Saru-oji has some. I guess I'll ask him for one tomorrow before I go meet dad at the office for my team. Hopefully, I'm with Yugao-chan and Hayate."_ Naruto's stoic face broke as thoughts of his two best friends came to mind. _"I should probably visit Itachi too."_ Naruto nodded to himself and began writing notes for new jutsu.

Naruto wrote 'Jutsu One' on the first page of his notebook. After a long period of thinking, he scribbled some more things of what he wanted it to do, how much chakra, the number of attacks, the number of targets and the element. Finally, Naruto was thinking on what hand-seals to use for this jutsu, mentally patting himself on the back for spending a whole day, reading on jutsu theory with a shadow clone at the library. "Suppose I'll test it tomorrow." Naruto quietly said to himself, and sealed his second notebook into his private seal, and promptly fell asleep.

**-Naruto's Mindscape-**

Naruto entered his mindscape, which looked much like the clearing on top of the Hokage Monument, but with a two story house. All kinds of wildlife appeared from the forest surrounding the house. Then his zanpakuto appeared before him.

Susanoo was a tall man, a very tall man standing at 6'3. De had long black hair and wore traditional blue samurai armour. On his right shoulder pad had the kanji for "Storm", but he wore no footwear.

'Tsu' was a beautiful woman with pale skin, long black hair and brown eyes. She stood at roughly 5'5 and wore a black and white kimono with a moon pattern which only accentuated her figure and her bust. She as well did not wear any footwear.

"It's about time you visited gaki. I'll start explaining my abilities f-" Susanoo called out in a gruff voice.

"Oh yes, before we begin our explanation, we just wanted to tell you that we might be getting another roommate. That means you might get a third zanpakuto. Don't hold my word for it, but if we know our sister like we do, then chances are it will happen." Tsu quickly cut in, giving a sweet smile to Susanoo afterwards.

"Mhmm... Amaterasu-nee doesn't being excluded. Okay no more interruptions. Now before I start, I'll clear it up now. I'm not exactly the actual God named Susanoo, more like the zanpakuto reincarnation of him I guess. Chances are I'll have most of the abilities." Susanoo said. Tsu then spoke "Seeing as how he explained that, I suppose I'll try and tell you my name once again. I am Tsuki..."

"Well, I got Tsuki this time." Naruto said. Tsuki smiled and finally allowed Susanoo to speak.

"Anyways, as you should know after what I guess was thousands of hours at the library, Susanoo's power reigned over storms and the sea. My power is quite like that. When you called out my name while you were fighting that Kumo guy, you unlocked my Shikai state. Now we have three states. Firstly we have our sealed state, basically your average weapon with a fancy guard and everything. Next you have Shikai, or Initial Release. Basically you unlock more of our power. From our guesses and half-assed calculations, your power should double or maybe even triple. That's the easy stuff." Susanoo explained in a tone that did not suite him at all.

"Finally, we have Bankai, or Final Release. To sum it up, you get a shit ton of power. To be more exact, your power becomes anywhere from 5 to 10 times greater. We don't know if it's 5 to 10 times greater on top of your Shikai, but we'll find out later. Anyways, when you want to release my shikai, just say 'Call forth the storms and become my blade, Susanoo!" Susanoo said, both Naruto and Tsuki sweatdropped at his incredibly short explanation, and his incredibly loud declaration at his release command.

"Anyways, you'll learn more of our abilities after your genin exam, or whenever we think your strong enough to learn them. Also, our sealed forms seem to have changed. I believe Susanoo is a Katana, and I am an average sized wakizashi." Tsuki finished. Susanoo nodded and kicked Naruto out of his mindscape, laughing as the spirits left.

Back to reality, Naruto was still sleeping but had one thought. _"Damn you Susanoo, I'll get back at you one day. Oh yes, revenge shall be sweet..."_

**-Next Morning, 7:00 AM-**

Naruto woke up and saw the clock._ "7 AM, man I have lots of time. Better get dressed and go visit Saru-oji for that chakra paper." _Naruto got dressed and went downstairs to make some breakfast. Naruto simply made some bread with a slice of ham and walked out the door eating his sandwich.

This was when the rest of his family came downstairs to have breakfast. All four of them ate ramen with gusto. While Kushina washed the dishes, Minato brought the twins to the living room. "Girls, you are four years old now. Do you want your tou-san and kaa-chan to train you to become a ninja so you can become like us?" The girls gave a high pitched squel and gave their father a bone crushing hug, all while screaming "Yes!" at over 300 times per minute. Kushina finished washing the dishes and smiled when she heard this. After recovering his hearing and getting the twins off of him, Minato then said "Kasumi-chan, Natsuki-chan. Let's start your training tomorrow okay?" in a very caring voice. Both girls nodded and gave a 1000 gigawatt smile.

Kasumi then said "Yay! We'll become great ninjas, just you wait Dattebayo!" Kushina laughed, hearing one of her daughters adopt a verbal tic much like hers, eventually Minato registered what the girl said and laughed as well. Kasumi and Natsuki were left wondering if their parents finally gone insane.

**-Konoha Mainstreet-**

"Now I think the Sarutobi compound is that way." Naruto pointed at a direction and flashed here, hoping he wouldn't get himself lost._  
_

**-Sarutobi Clan Compound 8 AM-**

Hearing a few knocks at the door while reading his precious smu- err, literature, Sarutobi Hiruzen walked towards the door and opened it, revealing an 8 year old Naruto.

"Yo, Saru-ji!" Naruto said.

"Well Naruto-kun, what brings you here? I'm glad you visited since you rarely come by." The old man said.

"Well old man, I was wondering if you had any of those chakra paper things. I'm a genin now but I'll try to visit you more often. Kami knows you need something to do besides read that orange book you call art." Naruto drawled out at the last sentence.

"Whatever you call it Naruto-kun, it is still literature, and yes I have some chakra paper. Please, come in." Sarutobi allowed Naruto to step inside and he closed the door. Sarutobi then went to get some chakra paper from his office, with Naruto following him.

"Here is a piece of chakra. When you pump some chakra into it, it will tell you your elemental affinities. If it burns, you have a fire affinity. If it gets damp, you have water. If it crumples, it means you have a lightning affinity. When it turns to dust, you have earth. Finally if it splits, then you have wind." Sarutobi explained. "Now I don't expect you to have an affinity now bu-" Sarutobi was cut off as Naruto pumped his chakra into the square piece of paper. Immediately, the paper was shred into 5 pieces. Two of the strips got damp, while two others crumpled up to a ball. The last strip of paper had a tiny burn at the edge. Sarutobi could only gape at the boy. _"He's only 8 and already has FOUR chakra affinities. He will make a great ninja someday I'm sure of it."_

"Well Naruto-kun, it seems you have a very strong wind affinity, two slightly weaker affinities for water and lightning, and a very weak fire affinity. Most ninja only have up to three affinities." Naruto gave the elderly man a grin and hugged him. "Arigato Saru-ji" The boy said. "It's nothing Naruto, I'm glad to help you. Anyways, shouldn't you get going to your father's office?" Naruto glanced at the clock which read 9:50. "Crap! SorrygottagoBye!" Naruto said as he bolted and ran for the door. Outside, Naruto shunpo-ed towards the Hokage's office, when he saw Hayate and Yugao casually walking on the main street and heading for the Hokage's office. Naruto quickly decided to walk with them.

**-Konoha Main Street-**

"Hey, how's it going?" Naruto said as he scared the pair of kenjutsu users.

"*cough*Jeez Naruto don't do that!" Hayate said with a cough, showing that he was still sick.

"Mhmm, where were you? You weren't at our meeting area." Yugao asked. "Well you see, I was at Saru-oji's compound for some chakra paper, and then I sorta got lost on the road of life." His friends could only shake their heads at Naruto's lame excuse.

Somewhere in Konoha, a silver haired man was seen walking along the road, reading a familiar orange book while giving a perverted giggle. "Achoo!" he said as he sneezed, being quick enough to pull his book down away from the snot. _"Why do I suddenly feel like giving myself a pat on the back, and strangling a blonde?" _The masked man thought to himself.

**-Hokage's Office 10 AM-**

In front of Minato were three fresh genin standing in attention.

"Well then, I congratulate you three for graduating at such an early age. Now the three of you might be wondering why you are here. You three will become a new genin team with the same jonin sensei." At this point, Minato stopped and said "Come in!"

Through the door came a man standing at 6'0 with short brown hair and black eyes. He wore a variation of the jonin flak jacket and was wearing some sort of headgear that framed his face and had the Konoha plate on it. The three genin all thought he looked a little weird.

"Hokage-sama" the man simply said. "Hello Tenzo, these three here will be your genin team. Please take them wherever and test them however you wish. Dismissed." Minato said as he began viciously attacking the Hokage's bane. This cued Tenzo to say "Alright you three, meet me at Training Ground 6." and then he vanished in a swirl of leaves. The three genin nodded and ran out the door and out the building as they headed for Training Ground 6.

* * *

***Training Ground 6***

* * *

Upon arriving at the designated training ground, they saw their jonin sensei sitting on a stump waiting for them.

"It appears that we may need to work on your speed. Anyways lets start with introductions. I'm Tenzo as Hokage-sama said. I like walnuts, and architecture. I dislike oily foods and arrogance among some things, and my hobby is mainly reading. As your jonin sensei and team leader, I will avoid ruling with fear, though I have no problem doing so. Alright, you with the coughs can go." Tenzo said.

"My name's Gekko Hayate, and I like sweets, kenjutsu and my friends. I dislike arrogant people and those that frown upon kenjutsu. My hobbies are training in Kenjutsu and hanging out with my friends. My dream is to become a Kenjutsu expert." Hayate said and proudly declared his dream of becoming a Kenjutsu expert, while coughing. Tenzo then looked at Yugao, silently telling her to go.

"I'm Uzuki Yugao. My likes consists of dango, kenjutsu, and my friends as well. I dislike the arrogant, the sexist, rapists, and those that frown upon kenjutsu as well. My hobbies are training, hanging out with my friends, and gardening. My dream is to become a Kenjutsu expert as well." Tenzo nodded and then his gaze fell on Naruto.

"Alright alright enough of the stare. My name's Namikaze Naruto. I like my friends, training, dango, and learning. I dislike arrogant pricks, rapists, sexists people, hatred, and those that look down upon someone because of something out of their control. My hobbies are meditating, reading, training and spending time with my friends. As for my dream, well I don't really have a set dream yet." Tenzo nodded once again.

"Well you seem like a good bunch. Now I'm supposed to test you, but what do you think I'm testing you on?" Tenzo asked, wondering if they would get the hidden answer. The three genin looked at eachother and simultaneously said "Teamwork."

"Good, that takes care of that. Now I suppose you work very well together." At this the genin nodded. "Very well then, makes my job much easier. In my hand are three bells. Your objective is to get them by any means necessary. The bell test is usually done with two bells, but that's for teamwork. We're doing this so I can gauge your abilities." Tenzo explained. "The test ends at hmm, lets say 1 in the afternoon. That means you have roughly two hours. Test starts now." With that the three genin threw down a smoke bomb and jumped their separate ways and hid from their sensei.

_"Good strategy, obscure my vision to hide."_ Tenzo mentally noted. Then three shuriken came from three different directions. Hayate jumped out of his hiding spot on a branch and ran behind the man, attempting to slash him with his sword. Tenzo dodged the attack with ease, and then Yugao came from his side, also trying to cut the man before jumping back. From above, Naruto performed his new jutsu. **"Wind Release: Sage's Wind Barrage"** One giant wind bullet was shot from his mouth, and then it split into dozens of smaller bullets, bombarding Tenzo's position. Many small craters were left after the dust settled.

_"Kami that could have been really close. I've never heard of such a technique before. I'll ask him after the test."_ Was the thought on Tenzo's mind after he Kawarimi'd out of the way.

_"Well jutsu number one a Success!" _Naruto happily thought after seeing the aftermath of the jutsu.

Hayate then reappeared in the clearing while doing some hand-seals and said **"Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu"**. A stream of fire was shot from Hayate's mouth as he used it much like a flamethrower. Yugao then appeared beside him and did a set of hand-seals. **"Futon: Daitoppa"**. The wind amplified the flames, and Tenzo reappeared at her side and they begin a taijutsu fight. Yugao kicked him by his shoulder while Hayate flanked his left side and attacked with a punch. Tenzo blocked both attacks and jumped back. Naruto came from behind and joined in the fight. Naruto started with a few punches and then kneed Tenzo's chest, sending him into the air, surprised by the out of place attack. Then Yugao and Hayate went to both sides of him and leaped towards him attempting to attack him from both sides. Before they hit him, the alarm rang and Tenzo Kawarimi'd out of the way, leaving a log to take the hits.

"Well I must say, you guys are easily one of the best genin I've ever seen. Your teamwork is astonishing, and your skills are quite high for genin. However, might I ask where did you learn that wind technique Naruto? It's easily High C-Ranked and I've never heard of it." Tenzo commented on their skills and asked Naruto about his jutsu.

"Well Tenzo-sensei, I made it myself. Was thinking of Katon: Hosenka when I made this." Naruto nervously replied. Yugao and Hayate were shocked by this revelation. They knew Naruto was really good, but to be able to make his own jutsu is amazing. Tenzo merely nodded, seeing no deceit in the blonde's words. Just then an ANBU appeared.

"Tenzo-sempai, the Hokage is requesting your presence with the other jonins for a meeting." Tenzo nodded at the masked nin and turned to his genin.

"Well, you surpassed my expectations. From now on, we'll be a team. So we'll meet everyday here at 7 AM sharp, understood?" Tenzo said. "Hai Tenzo-sensei!" The three genin said in unison. "Dismissed" was all Tenzo said before he vanished using the Shunshin.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to visit Itachi now. See ya tomorrow." The three said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Naruto then flashed to the front of the Uchiha Compound.

**-Scene Change, Uchiha Compound-**

"Yo, is Itachi here?" Naruto asked the gate guards.

"Yep, he should be at his house." One of the guards answered.

"Thanks, bye." Was all Naruto said as he ran through the gates and towards Itachi's house. He saw Itachi and his mother returning to their house with groceries and flash stepped to them.

"Ohayo Tachi-nii, Mikoto-san!" He said from behind, surprising both Uchiha.

"Oh, hi Naruto you scared us!" Was Mikoto's reply

"Hello Naruto, haven't seen you in a while. So your a genin now." Itachi said in his usual quiet voice.

"Yep. So, how are the twins?" Naruto asked.

"The same, still wanting to spend as much time as they can with me." Itachi replied, showing a bit of happiness as he said that.

"Can't say I blame them. Oh we're here." Mikoto said as they reached their house.

"You mind if I come in too? I wanna see the twins again!" Naruto pouted.

Itachi and Mikoto laughed at his expression and allowed him to come inside their house.

* * *

**-At the same Time, Hokage's Office-**

* * *

"Thank you everyone for coming, and Kakashi for only being 15 minutes late this time." Minato said with gratitude, and annoyance towards Kakashi. The silver-haired scarecrow nervously laughed as everyone stared at him with shock. It was a well known fact that Kakashi was late for everything at least two hours.

"Anyways, I've called you to discuss one thing. That is the skills of our newest genin team. Tenzo, please give us your report." Minato said in a patient voice.

"Hai Hokage-sama. After testing them, I have gathered that they have a high level of teamwork, something which is rather uncommon at their age. Each of them possess mid genin to low chunin abilities. Beginning with Gekko Hayate, his taijutsu needs some improvement, mostly centering his stance and footwork. His kenjutsu is rather impressive. A few of his movements are wasted ones, his stances have a few holes here and their, but are much better than I expected. He only used the Great Fireball jutsu, so I think is ninjutsu is decent for his age. Next is Uzuki Yugao, her kenjutsu has less holes that Hayate, her footwork and motions are better than Hayate's as well. Again, she only used the Great Breakthrough jutsu, so I can not say where she is for that." Tenzo paused for a moment to reassess his evaluations on Naruto, as he felt his would have the biggest impact.

"Lastly, Naruto seems to be low chunin at least. He has shown that his taijutsu is impressive, his kenjutsu is nothing to scoff at as a genin or even chunin. His motions were flawless, and his stance had almost no holes in it. He used a jutsu called 'Wind Release: Sage Wind Barrage' which launched a large condensed wind bullet which splits into dozens of smaller bullets. Again, I can't say much about his ninjutsu, but I imagine him to be well-versed in that area as well. None of them used any genjutsu, but I believe they are all capable of using and dispelling them."

The room was silent. Everyone including Minato was shocked. Minato thought _"I didn't teach him kenjutsu, and I'm sure Kushina didn't either. Actually I didn't really teach him anyways...Wonder how he's so good."_ The jonin gaped and almost all of them had one thought _"For eight year olds, they are really good. I wanna know their teachers."_ Kakashi was too busy reading Jiraiya-sama's art but was hiding his shock. Anko then spoke her thoughts out loud. "Leave it to the blonde gaki's team to surprise us all. I wonder what's next." Everyone turned to her and agreed with her statement.

"Well I suppose I'll show you the test as well." Minato said as he took out a glass viewing ball. The fight was then replayed in the ball, and everyone watched with awe, amazed at the genins' skills.

"That is all, Dismissed." Then the jonin in the room left in different ways. Many of them used the shunshin, others used the door, and Kakashi went through the window.

Minato then sighed and thought to himself _"How did he get so strong so quickly? I better have a talk with him later."_

**-Namikaze Estate, Supper time-**

The Namikaze family sat at the dinner table as Kushina served each person a hot bowl of ramen, and helping the girls eat. Then Minato spoke.

"So Kasumi, Natsuki, how was your day?"

"It was great tou-san! Kaa-chan taught us about katra and ninjas!" Kasumi spoke first, and then Natsuki finished. Everyone sweatdropped as they thought that the twins were doing that more often now.

"Chakra Natsuki, Chakra" Minato corrected the girl.

"So nii-san, how about you?" Kasumi asked, no longer able to hide her curiosity. "It was fine." Naruto said. When everyone was finished eating, Naruto took the ramen bowls and began to wash them. Kushina then asked the twins if they wanted to go to the park as a family. They said yes, bursting out all their pent up energy. So, when Naruto finished cleaning, they left.

**-Konoha** **Streets-**

The Namikaze were walking down the street towards the park. Every villager they passed by waved and said hello to the twins and the two adults. No one really seemed to know that Naruto was with them, or his relation to the Namikazes, or they did and didn't care. The twins saw this but thought it was their imagination. Minato and Kushina saw this as well, and Naruto knew they did, but they hid their lack of concern well, not worried that Naruto is being forgotten. That or confident that the villagers cared for him but cared for the twins even more. Naruto, deciding to do something else, quietly left for Training ground 6, and no one noticed, or deemed it important enough to tell the Hokage and his family.

**-Training Ground 6-**

Naruto arrived in a flash and unsealed his Kido notebook. He quickly filled the new page. For Hado, he wrote ideas for Hado numbers 35 to 63. On the other side of the page, Naruto wrote down ideas and functions for Bakudo numbers 31 to 63 as well. He had already created spells for Bakudo numbers 10 to 30, and Hado numbers 32 to 34 during his time at the academy. Naruto knew that his family would be at the park for at least two hours, so he figured that he would make his new Kido spells for that time and then flash back to the park around the time that they would leave. Naruto decided to create Hado spells for this period of time, and he did just that.

**-2 Hours later-**

Naruto had successfully made Hado spells for numbers 35 to 54. Deciding it was time to go back, Naruto sealed all of his notes and flashed away from the training grounds.

At the park, he caught his family about to leave, so he flashed to the end of the road heading to the park, finally feeling the exhaustion from his Hado techniques. As his family passed by him, he merely nodded and followed them back to the Namikaze estate.

* * *

***Time Skip - 6 Years after K.I***

* * *

We find a ten year old Naruto sitting on the Sandaime's head on the Hokage's Monument with a violin by his side. He had taken up music as a hobby, and turns out he was quite good at playing the violin. Naruto, Yugao, and Hayate were all 10 now, while Itachi was 11. The four of them grew very close and Itachi became a role model for the genin who felt that they didn't have enough experience, so they stayed as genin for two years much like Itachi did.

Each had already took their first life. Naruto then reminisces at the memory.

* * *

***Flash Back, 1 Year Ago - Bandit Camp, ?***

* * *

Team 6, consisting of Tenzo, Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate, and 'Namikaze' Naruto were currently hiding in the trees as they watched bandits who were harassing a town nearby roam the clearing. Then night time came, and slowly the bandits fell asleep. Tenzo's voice was heard from the radio "Naruto, Yugao, Hayate. You know the plan." The three nodded as they jumped down and silently landed. Yugao and Hayate drew their katanas and Naruto materialized Susanoo into his hand. On the other side of the forest, Tenzo held a kunai in reverse grip. Each of them would kill the bandits in one of the four camps. And so it began.

Each genin sneaked into their assigned targets and slight the bandits' throats, and for the first time of their life, they had killed. They had taken another person's life, and what disgusted them the most was that they did it so easily. Soon, they regrouped by their own camp not far from there. They ate in relative silence, reflecting on what just transpired.

"I understand that those were your first kills." Their sensei says. The three genin nodded, too shamed to speak.

"Do not feel ashamed. If you had not killed them, they would have continued to harass others and put their livelihoods at risk. I know killing isn't necessarily a good thing, so hear this. Do not take pleasure in killing. Kill, to protect others. Kill, to defend your family, your friends. For the moment you take joy in doing so, is the moment you are no longer human." Tenzo spoke in a sage-like tone and giving a creepy stare to the three genin at the end. The three, still pondering on his words, nodded to their sensei.

* * *

***End Flash Back***

* * *

Those words that their sensei said to them on that day stuck to them since then. Their team had done over 50 C-ranked missions and above, along with the 500 or so D-ranked 'chores' they called them.

Naruto had finally unlocked the shikai for his second zanpakuto, who's name was Tsukiyomi, after the moon goddess. The fact that she and Susanoo are constantly arguing in his head drove him crazy, but he was still glad that he only had two spirits inside his head. He just prayed that he didn't get anymore.

With the help of his teammates, friend and sensei, Naruto was able to create his own taijutsu style he called 'Hakuda', and two kenjutsu styles; one for one sword and the second for two swords. In his spare time, Naruto created more jutsu and Kido. He now has over 50 ninjutsu in his disposal, and has created Bakudo techniques up to 81 and Hado techniques up to 88, all of them Naruto can use without the incantation at over 50% power. Aside from that, Naruto had began to study the art of Fuinjutsu from his "father's" notes on the topic.

Naruto's relationship with his family is near it's breaking point. When the twins turned five, Minato and Kushina devoted all their attention to training the twins, constantly teaching them, pushing Naruto to the side. His parents grew completely distant to Naruto, as if he wasn't anyone they knew. The change that his sisters went through saddened him the most. They grew colder towards him, became arrogant from being given everything. Naruto quotes from Sasuke and Sayuri "Surpassing the Hyuuga's Fate of being arrogant". They much angrier than ever, and were constantly belittling him whenever they could. So for the first time of his life, Naruto felt out of place, he felt despair. For the first time since the Kyuubi's attack, Naruto cried. The twins used to be what kept him happy, what motivated him to become stronger, but it seems as if it was for naught.

That was a year ago. Truthfully, Naruto no longer cared for his family. He planned on moving out when he had enough ryo to buy a nice apartment room, or he would just stay with Hayate or Yugao until then. He did so more than half the nights. Family runs deeper than blood, and Naruto understood this. His team became his new family, the Sarutobi and the Uchiha clans as well. Naruto would do anything to protect them, his 'precious' people.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and picked up his violin and unsealed his bow. Naruto then stood up and began to play, letting the sad music be carried by the wind and heard throughout the village. He continued to play for another twenty minutes until his teammates appeared behind him with a shunshin.

"I figured you were here. Come on Naruto, don't start brooding on us now." Hayate said, seemingly looking quite well opposed to looking overly sick as he usually did.

"Yeah Naruto, let's go. Tenzo-sensei said something about the entrance papers yesterday. I wanna see what it's about." Yugao whined, while the two boys laughed at her.

"Fine fine, let's go." Naruto said as the three of them disappeared from the top of the monument. One by a plume of smoke, another by a swirl of leaves, and the last left with a flash.

* * *

Translations & Jutsu Description(s): (These come as they appeared in the chapter.)

**Wind Release: Sage's Wind Barrage**: My own creation(not good at making names). User takes a deep breath, compressing all the air into a ball, and shoots it out of their mouth. The bullet divides into smaller bullets mid-flight and decompress on contact, causing a small crater. Using more chakra increases the number of divisions and power.

* * *

Done!

A/N:  
Man that was a long chapter, or longer than usual. Hopefully you guys enjoyed I decided to make a time skip in preparations for the next chapter. Note that I won't translate things that I have done in previous chapters, and I won't add descriptions to jutsu from canon.

Follow, Favourite, Review? Please do so if you enjoyed this chapter.


	6. Ch 6 Chunin Exams

A/N: Everyone, Thank you for your continuing support! By the way, should I keep the English translations at the bottom or should I add them beside the corresponding Japanese romanji?

**SuperSaiyan9**: He won't forgive his parents, I can guarantee that, and no he won't transform into a Vasto Lord/Arrancar.

**Haruca-Lin-sama**: No there will be no Uchiha massacre, and the prophecy is really based on your own perspective.

**The Golden Boy**: I agree with your comments about the bonds, but no Naruto won't be leaving Konoha anytime soon, or ever. Secondly, I plan of having the twins see their faults after they become genin, probably during the Wave Arc (one of my favourites).

**Cloves**:No Naruto won't leave the village, but if he does, it won't be any of that mercenary crap.

**fordiddenfruitunloved**: No Naruto will not be leaving the village, and I planned on having Naruto try and improve his relations with the villagers, or some of them at least.

**Maverick210**: To answer your first question, I made some adjustments to the Shinigami. Even if she's the Goddess of Death, gods/goddesses are generally fair. So she gave the summoner the option to continue to live, or die, regardless there would be a price to summon the Shinigami. Regardless of whether you chose to continue living or die, your soul would eventually make it's way to the Shinigami when you die. That's how I'd imagine it anyways. As to why they had Naruto earlier than the canon plot line, note that since Minato and Kushina lived, if Naruto was the jinchuuriki, then he would most likely not learn the same lessons he did in canon. As for your suggestion about the dialogue, I may start doing so.

**platapuslover**: I won't bash, mainly because I am a new writer, but I love Jiraiya, he's just awesome.

**TheBlackSeaReaper**: Thank you for your support, and as of now I will be uploading about once every two or three days.

**Neo Amon**: Well, chances are anyone who has an SS-rank nin and an S-rank nin training them since they were young would most likely turn out arrogant, unless they beat the arrogance out of them from the start, which did not happen. A relationship between Sayuri and Naruto may happen considering how things are going as of now, as she sees him as family now, while Naruto cares deeply for her. Concerning Naruto and Kyuubi(Akane) interactions, I don't see that happening unless Kyuubi temporarily gains control of one/both of the twins, the twins try to summon the Kyuubi somehow, or the Kyuubi is somehow able to persuade the twins to talk to him. Mind you that the twins do not see Naruto as a part of their family anymore. Lastly, Naruto will be gaining a Hollow side (Around the time he becomes Jonin hint hint) but I can not say anything about the Shinigami contacting Naruto. Sorry.

**rivereagles999**: Thanks! More of my own custom jutsu will be seen in later chapters.

Before the chapter starts, just wanted to say a few things.

Firstly, there will be a poll concerning the pairings when this gets uploaded.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 6 Chunin Exams  
**

* * *

**-Training Ground 6-**

The genin appeared at their designated training grounds where their sensei awaited them, holding a few pieces of paper.

"Hello Naruto, Hayate, Yugao. You've been a genin for 2 years and I personally feel that you are more than ready to take the chunin exams. I took the liberty of applying you for it. These are your application forms. The chunin exams are being held in Suna this time around. Get these forms signed and keep them with you when we leave for Suna in two weeks. I won't be training you myself since there really isn't much you can learn in two weeks, so just hone your skills. Dismissed." Then Tenzo left, leaving the three 10 year old genin to think.

"So, what do you guys think? I say we should go." Yugao said to her teammates. Naruto nodded at this and Hayate said "Hell yea we should! I'm sure we'll all make chunin!" Naruto smiled and Yugao laughed at his outburst.

Naruto then spoke up "We should go prepare for it then. I'm going to go to Ten Points Wolf again. You guys wanna come?" Naruto asked his teammates and friends. Both nodded and made their way to the disguised shop.

**-Ten Points Wolf Shop, 1 PM-**

"Ohayo Dan-san!" The three genin called as they entered the store. Dan peaked his head out from the back of the store and replied "Hello kids. What brings you here?" in his usual kind but gruff voice.

"Nothing much, just here to prepare for the chunin exams." Hayate said. "Well its about time you took the exam!" Dan said, already knowing their abilities which they hid from majority of the village. "Well then, what can I get for ya? Lets start with you Hayate." Dan asked.

"I need shuriken, kunai, exploding tags, smoke bombs, some ninja wire, and new clothes." Hayate summed up his list. "So just about everything? Well come on then, we have plenty of time." So Hayate went to the back with Dan to get his required things.

**-One Hour Later-**

Naruto and Yugao were half asleep on two chairs when they say Hayate finally come out with Dan. "That'll be 25,000 ryo gaki." Hayate pulled out the corresponding amount of cash and handed it to Dan. "So, how do I look?" Hayate asked his peers. He wore a bandana with a plate that had the Konoha symbol instead of the hitae-ate. He wore a dark blue shirt, black shorts with a white hooded cloak over it. He also wore fingerless gloves with metal plates on them and standard ninja shoes. His katana was strapped to the outside of his cloak and was positioned on his back.

"A lot better than before." Naruto gave his opinion. Yugao then said "Indeed, you look nice now, but cloak really isn't needed. I suppose I'll go next." Dan nodded and the two left to the back of the store.

**-Two Hours Later-**

Hayate and Naruto were woken up by a foot to their chests.

"What was that for Yugao?" Naruto said out. "That was uncalled for." Hayate wheezed. Yugao's only reply was "You were asleep... Anyways, what do you think?" She asked for her teammates' opinions.

She wore a grey t-shirt with black pants with tape wrapped around her right leg. Like Hayate she wore standard ninja sandals and unlike Hayate she did not wear a cloak or fingerless gloves, but opted for full gloves with arm guards instead. Her katana was also strapped to her back.

"You look nice _Yu-chan_" Naruto said with a sly voice. Yugao had a very small blush and turned to Hayate who then said "Better than before." in a drowsy voice.

"I even got repairing seals on these!" Yugao said in a happy voice. Then Naruto stood up and said "I'll be back in a bit." and promptly left to get his things with Dan.

**-One more Hour later-**

Naruto returned to his friends after one hour of shopping. Dan looked at him and said "Gaki, that's 30,000 ryo." Naruto nodded and pulled out the corresponding amount and gave it to the shopkeeper.

"Yo!" Naruto said to his friends, who snapped out of their imaginations.

"Hey 'Ruto, you look awesome!" Hayate said using his nickname for Naruto, which made his eye twitch slightly.

"I agree, you look very nice." Yugao said to her teammate.

Naruto wore a blue t-shirt with the kanji for "Storm" on one shoulder and "Moon" on the other shoulder", while the back had a spiral, though, not the Uzumaki swirl. He wore black pants with medical tape wrapped around his right leg which had a holster that had storage seals in it for shuriken, kunai, and a lot of other things in it, but they didn't need to know right now. Naruto also strapped Susanoo and Tsukiyomi to his belt. The reason he kept them out is because Tsukiyomi and Susanoo were complaining about not getting enough fresh air, and seeing Yugao drool at the zanpakuto was a huge plus.

"So, now what?" Naruto asked.

"Suppose we could relax for the rest of the day and do a bit of light training before the chunin exams." Yugao said.

"Yosh! Let us relax at the park!" Hayate exclaimed.

-**Elsewhere in the village-**

Might Gai was doing his daily regiment of climbing the Hokage's Monument 1000 times with his teeth._"I feel someone beginning to ignite the flames of YOUTH!"_ was Gai's thoughts as he felt an immense amount of pride develop."Yosh, whoever is igniting their Flames of Youth, I shall find them and help fan their flames!

YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTT TTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He shouted as he continued to climb the mountain with his teeth, how he did it while screaming was left to the imagination. His shout was heard throughout the entire village, and three genin disappeared before they could meet the rather 'youthful' man.

* * *

**-3 Days before Chunin Exams, Park at 5:30 PM-**

The three genin were now sitting on a park bench, watching clan heirs and other children play, all while having ice cream.

"So, we're leaving for Suna tomorrow." Hayate said out loud.

"Mhmm." Yugao said while licking her ice cream. Naruto only nodded and finished his ice cream.

"We'll I'm gonna go and get ready for it. See you at the gate tomorrow morning." Naruto said as he left his teammates at the park.

**-Namikaze Compound-**

Naruto quietly crept into the compound, hoping not to deal with his family, but it seems like Kami enjoys his pain.

"Hey, get the hell over here and fight the twins." His 'Father' called.

"Ugh, Kami damn it..." Naruto said as a depressing aura took over him as he walked towards the training grounds.

"Naru-teme, we're gonna beat you up!" His supposed sister Kasumi shouted.

"Naruto-no-baka, why are you so weak!" The other twin, Natsuki said.

_"Damn, chances are they'll use "Akane's" chakra, let's just hope I have her favour and she decides not to lend the twins her chakra..." _Naruto thought to himself.

Just then, the twins took on a more feral appearance, their eyes became red with slits, and they grew fangs. "Well shit." Naruto mumbled. He got into his Hakuda stance and waited as the red chakra took form of a cloak on each girl with one tail floating from the back.

Naruto flashed forward and tried to knock out one of the twins, but his plan did not work out. _"Ah damn, that cloak really hurts. Taijutsu is no longer an option. I still have to finish this fast if I expect to be well enough to leave for Suna." _Naruto quickly ducked by instinct and dodged, still on the defensive. The twins saw his pain, and began a taijutsu fight anyways. By good luck, they were able to hit him a couple of times, not knowing why the chakra burned Naruto so much.

"You weakling! Why won't you fight back!" Natsuki screamed.

"Bastard, we'll be sure to send you to the hospital!" Kasumi shouted.

Neither of them saw Naruto doing his hand-seals. "**Wind Release: Sage's Wind Barrage**", and immediately after, "**Wind Release: Wind Swords**". The twins saw Naruto's hands glow and wind chakra took the form of a blade on each hand. He dashed forward and began his attack. The twins had much trouble dodging, but were able to make it out relatively unharmed. Naruto's wind blades disappeared and then he saw something that scared him. The twins seemed to be charging a purple ball of sorts with demonic chakra. Naruto instantly remembered the Kyuubi doing the same six years ago in the attack and slightly paled. _"Damn, this better work."_

Naruto threw down a smoke bomb. He then proceeded to make a Kage Bunshin in the smoke, casted a minor genjutsu on himself and leapt for the air. In the air, Naruto used is reiyoku to float, and took out four kunai, slapping a custom seal on them. _"Kami, I don't know what wrongs I have done to you but please let this work."_ Naruto gave a silent prayer and threw the kunai in the shape of a square. Naruto took out a fifth kunai and slapped a new seal on it _"Fuin"_. Naruto mentally said "Seal" as he saw the twins near complete on charging the purple ball of destruction.

Before the ball was shot towards him, the kunai glowed, and an outline of a pyramid was created. Then, everyone was shocked, Naruto included. The purple ball vanished into nothingness. The red chakra covering the twins disappeared.

"What did you do!" Both of the twins screeched at the same time, but Naruto gave no reply as he landed on the ground and began collecting his kunai.

"Are you so weak that you would rely on underhand tactics to beat the twins? Answer me!" Minato said, slowly raising his voice in anger.

"We are ninja, we do whatever we can to win. What most consider underhand we call it fair." Naruto replied as he walked away to his room, leaving the three seething in anger.

**-Naruto's Room-**

After unsealing the door, Naruto walked into his room. It hadn't changed much over the years. Plain white walls, his bed in the corner, the window, and the laundry basket, all of them remained the same. At the wall was a desk with some papers, writing tools, and painting utensils. To the left of the desk was a bookcase filled with all kinds of books. Romance, factual, history, and other books on ninja filled each shelf. On the other side of the desk was a stack of paintings, all of them he had done himself. The one on the top was simply a portrait of his mindscape with Tsukiyomi, Susanoo, and himself, one of his best works.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Naruto began checking his equipment for the chunin exams.

**-3 Days Later, Sunagakure, Chunin Exam Area-**

The journey to Suna sucked in Naruto's opinion, nothing happened, and half of the time they were travelling through a sandstorm. The three of them were in their outfits that they bought two weeks ago, and Naruto thought that Hayate was extremely lucky for having a cloak.

We now find the trio walking up to room 302, where the first stage of the chunin exams are being held. They saw their sensei, Tenzo, appear before them.

"Good, you all were able to find your way here. I can't say anything about the exam since I don't know anything, but do your best and work together!" Tenzo said, trying to give them some emotional support. "Hai, Tenzo-sensei!" the genin said, and watched as their jonin sensei disappear. Then the three of them walked into the room, where a few teams were waiting. There was three teams from Kiri, though only one seemed decent in Naruto's eye. There were three teams from Kumo, and five teams from Iwa who had been eying Naruto since he walked in. Lastly there were six Suna teams.

_"17 teams in total..." _Naruto thought

"It seems we are the only Konoha team here." Hayate unknowingly said that out loud.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious Hayate." Yugao said. Naruto simply laughed at Hayate's expense.

"You! Konoha blondie. Are you the Yellow Flash's son?!" A tall Iwa genin yelled.

Naruto only replied with "Family runs much deeper than blood, now leave." The Iwa genin, unable to say anything, left. Then a Suna jonin appeared. He wore a turban-like headgear that covered the left side of his face, and two red marks on the right side of his face.

"Everyone take a seat!" The man barked. "I am Baki, I'll be your examiner for this test. In front of you is a written test. All you have to do is finish it. This is a team effort. You have ten points, anyone on your team get's an answer right, you get two points. If you get an answer wrong, you lose two points. If you are caught cheating, you lose two points, and if you are caught cheating three times, your entire team get's kicked out. You have one hour, you may begin now." Baki quickly explained the rules and allowed the genin to begin.

**-One Hour Later-**

"Time's up, stop writing." Baki commanded. "Now we have one final question. You may choose not to take it, and take the exam next time around. Or, you can take it, b-" At this a mist genin shouted "Of Course we'll take it! What have we got to lose?!" Baki then shouted "SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP! I was getting to that. You can take it but, if you get it wrong..." Here, all of the Suna jonin took out a kunai. "You, die."

This caused an uproar which quickly died down after a loud yell. "SHUT UP. It's my rules here, you don't like it, deal with it." Now, who here choose not to take the question?" The Konoha team watched as many teams left, leaving only 6 teams still in the room, most people were sweating bullets, while the Konoha team was able to keep their composure.

_"6 Teams left. 1 Konoha, 2 Suna, 1 Iwa, 1 Kiri, and 1 Kumo teams. They've got guts." _Baki thought. "Any one else leaving?" He smiled to himself as he saw no one stand and leave. "Well. You... Pass!" Then all of the jonin in the room put away their weapons, while Naruto laughed out loud. "AHAHAHA I knew it! Hayate you owe me!" Hayate mumbled something incoherent about blondes being blessed by Lady Luck and handed Naruto a small wad of ryo. Everyone in the room sweatdropped while Yugao hit both of them on the head. "Bakas..." was all she said.

"Well, anyways." Baki interrupted. "All of you had passed not because you answered the questions right, but because you were able to gather information without being caught. I congratulate you on passing the first exam!" Baki said. Just then someone appeared in a plume of smoke. Another Suna jonin, though this time it was a woman. "Alright brats, get over to the Sunagakure Stadium in 5 minutes. If your late, your out." And then she was gone.

Every team that passed with the exception of Naruto's team scrambled in panic, not knowing where the stadium was located. Naruto and his teammates simply shunshined there, all with a different effect. Hayate disappeared in a plume of smoke, Yugao in a swirl of leaves, and Naruto's was by far the most shocking. His figure shimmered out of existence, leaving nothing behind.

**-5 Minutes Later, Suna Stadium-**

"Glad you're all here brats. I'm Yamada Haru, I'll be your examiner for the second exam. This is a team battle, that means three on three brats." the female examiner announced. "This screen will show the match ups for this exam. First Match is... Team 6 of Konoha consisting of Namikaze Naruto, Gekko Hayate, and Uzuki Yugao vs Team 4 of Iwa consisting of Takeo Aoi, Kamizuru Suzumebachi, and Kazuri?" The proctor said the last person with much confusion. "No last name? Oh well."

_"Right off the bat... This'll be interesting."_ Was the thought of every member of each team, while Kazuri was glaring at Naruto. _"Oh its him from before..."_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Well, now that's out of the way, allow me to quickly explain the rules. One, If I say stop, you stop. Two, don't kill anyone in the audience. Understood?" The proctor said. Everyone from both teams nodded.

"Well then. Match One, Begin!" The proctor dropped her hand in between both teams and jumped away.

Naruto, knowing what his teammates were planning for the most part threw a few smoke bombs down, and jumped back with his teammates.

"Combo Three?" Hayate asked Naruto, who nodded in return along with Yugao.

"**Katon: Endan**" "**Futon: Shinkuha**" "**Ninpou: Kage Kunai no Jutsu**". The Iwa genin were pleasantly surprised when several blades of fire came out of the smoke, followed by a giant fire bullet and a dozen kunai through the flames. "**Doton: Doryuheki**" A very tall wall of earth rose from the ground, blocking majority of the attacks. The three Iwa nin jumped onto the wall to scout for the Konoha Team, but was unable to find them in the dust and smoke.

"**Hado #1: Sho**" An invisible force pushed the three Iwa genin back to the battle floor, causing a painful scream to erupt from the three of them. Kazuri shakily stood up to do a jutsu. "**Doton: Ganchuso**" A multitude of spikes rose from the ground in the smoke, so Naruto jumped into the air and floated, exposing himself to the enemy to distract them. Naruto began raining down shuriken and kunai upon the Iwa nin to keep them distracted and from doing any jutsu.

Hayate and Yugao circled around and got behind the three Iwa nin, but Suzumebachi noticed as a bee notified her. "**Thousand Bee St-**" Just before the bees fired their stingers at Yugao and Hayate, Suzumebachi noticed a kunai with a sealing tag attached to it and froze. She along with her teammates couldn't move. "What the- " Aoi said. "What the hell is this?" Kazuri shouted.

All three of them felt a blade press at their necks. In a chilling voice, Yugao said "Surrender, Now." The Iwa team, having no choice nodded.

"Winner, Team 6 of Konoha!" Everyone cheered at the display of both team's abilities, mostly the Konoha team's abilities though.

"Alright you guys, get to the medical ward if you need to, but just get off the arena." Haru called out to both teams. "Anyways next up is..."

**-After Matches-**

"Winners of the matches, front and center now!" The female proctor called out. Very shortly, three teams appeared before her. One team from Konoha, the second from Kiri, and the third from Suna.

"Alright brats, the finals will be held in one month here. That means you have one month to prepare yourself. Unlike the second exam, you'll know who you're fighting. Unfortunately, because there are an odd number of people here, one of you will have to fight twice. Any volunteers? No? Oh well. Come up here and get a number. It's to decide the match ups." Soon, everyone went to get their number.

"1" Naruto called out.  
"6" Hayate said, trying to contain his excitement.  
"5" Yugao said.  
"2" A genin from Kiri, Terumi Genryuu said.  
"3" Shiro of Kiri said.  
"7" Amaya of Kiri said.  
"4" Akasuna Izumi, genin of Suna said.  
"8" Hiroshi of Suna called out.  
"9" The third Suna genin, Kazuo shouted.

"Alright these are the Match ups for the finals! Namikaze Naruto vs Terumi Genryuu. Shiro of Kiri vs Akasuna Izumi. Uzuki Yugao vs Gekko Hayate. Hiroshi of Suna vs Amaya of Kiri. The last match will be the Winner of Match 1 vs Kazuo of Suna! Remember to prepare to give a good show as the Kages and Daimyo will be watching as well. Make sure your back in one month! Good, now leave." The proctor announced the matches, and left.

**-One Month Later, Suna Stadium-**

After a month of training, the competitors returned, hoping to do well enough to be promoted to chunin. The Daimyo of the Kaze no Kuni, Hi no Kuni, and Mizu no Kuni sat with a pair of samurai behind each. In the Kage's booth sat the Yondaime Kazekage, the Yondaime Hokage, and the Yondaime Mizukage.

"Hello Hokage-dono, Mizukage-dono, it has been a while has it not?" The Kazekage asked.  
"Indeed it has been a while Kazekage-dono, though I have never personally met Hokage-dono until now." The Mizukage said.  
"That is true, it is a pleasure to meet you Mizukage-dono." The Hokage said. The Mizukage then spoke  
"And I as well, it seems like they are beginning. Let us hope for some amazing battles." The Mizukage said, while the Kazekage nodded and the Hokage smiled.

"Competitors, Front and center. Stand tall!" With this, all nine competitors appeared in the arena. Then the proctor continued. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Daimyo and Kages. I thank you all for coming and Welcome to the Chunin Exams! My name is Yamada Haru and I will be the proctor for the finals! Before we begin, the rules are simple. One, If I call the match, you listen and stop. Two, don't kill anyone in the audience. Three, killing is allowed, but it's frowned upon, so try to avoid it if you can. Beyond that it's anything goes!"

Haru then announces the match ups "Match one will be Namikaze Naruto of Konoha vs Terumi Genryuu of Kiri!  
Match 2 is Shiro of Kiri vs Akasuna Izumi of Suna!  
Match 3 will be Uzuki Yugao of Konoha vs Gekko Hayate of Konoha!  
Match 4 is Amaya of Kiri vs Hiroshi of Suna.  
The last match will be of the winner of Match 1 vs Kazuo of Suna!" The proctor announced, while the crowd was murmuring and betting on who they though would win.

"Alright, everyone but Naruto and Genryuu get out of here and sit in the competitor's booth!" Haru said as everyone but the two mentioned disappeared from the arena.

"You guys know the rules, give them what they want." Both competitors of match one nodded. "Very well then, Hajime!" The proctor quickly dropped her hand and jumped back. Both of them jumped back a distance as Genryuu drew his katana, while Naruto materialized Susanoo into his grasp. Naruto settled in his stance while Genryuu immediately charged in, quickly closing the distance. Naruto waited, so Genryuu made the first strike, and the two began a fierce kenjutsu battle.

CLANG  
Clang  
Clang

The crowd watched the two genin as their blades clashed. Many slashes and strikes were made but none took first blood. Both of them rushed in and their blades clashed, both pressing on as they tried to overpower the other. Sparks were generated as the two blades were grinding against each other. After a moment, Naruto flashed to his back, causing Genryuu to lose balance and kicked him away and towards the wall. Putting a bit more distance, Naruto pointed his palm at the Terumi and said "**Sokatsui**". Fortunately for the Kiri genin, he was able to roll away in time, but the explosion still sent him away.

Quickly standing up with the help of his katana, Genryuu did some hand-seals and shouted "**Lava Release: Lava Bullet Jutsu**". He spat out two large globs of lava then shot towards Naruto's position. "**Bakudo #81: Danku!**" Naruto stretched his arms out and erected an energy barrier to stop the lava bullets, before shattering after the lava fell off the barrier. With a burst of speed, the two genin shot forward and started a vicious taijutsu fight. Every punch blocked and every kick was dodged.

Naruto silently created a Bunshin as he fought, and Genryuu unfortunately did not know it was a normal clone dodged one of the Bunshin's attacks and was left open. Naruto took this opportunity to attack kneed him into the air and spun around and gave the airborne Kiri nin a solid kick to the chest, sending him far and out of breath. Naruto took this time to take out a kunai and get behind him. Once Genryuu stood up he felt a kunai pressed against his neck, and a cold voice that whispered "Surrender now." Out of options and energy, Genryuu nodded.

"Winner, Namikaze Naruto of Konoha!" The crowd was silent for a minute to take in the genins' abilities. After registering it, they began to applaud loudly.

"Hey, good job Genryuu-san." Naruto said as he took away the kunai. "Thanks, you too Namikaze. Maybe we'll both get promoted for silencing the crowd." Genryuu joked. "Good one, let's get off the arena." Naruto chuckled as they walked off to the competitors booth.

**-Kage's Stand-**

"It was an excellent match. Clearly your genin are well trained Hokage-dono, Mizukage-dono." the Kazekage spoke.

"Indeed, I am impressed by Naruto's capabilities with a sword. Not too many people take up the art of kenjutsu." The Mizukage spoke, though the Hokage only nodded and thought _"When did he learn Kenjutsu, and where'd he get the blade?"_. Then the Hokage spoke "I believe both of them should gain the rank of chunin. Both of them displayed a high level of abilities and Naruto showed a good level of strategy." The other kages agreed with his statement and nodded.

**-Arena-**

"Alright then, Competitors of Match 2, get down here." The proctor called.

"Match Two, Shiro of Kiri vs Akasuna Izumi of Suna! Hajime!" Again the proctor jumped back after starting the match. Immediately, spikes of sand shot up from the ground, trailing towards the Kiri nin. _"I only have two water bottles on me. I have to get closer to hit him or even consider using the water."_ the Kiri nin thought. Then waves of sand flew towards him from Izumi's position. Shiro attempted to advance while dodging the waves of sand, but did not progress very far. _"Damn, didn't think I'd have to use one already, but it'll help a ton."_ Shiro pulled out a water bottle in his left hand and a kunai in his right hand. After jumping to the side to dodge a spike of sand, Shiro tossed the water bottle in the air and threw a kunai at it, causing it to open and spill over the sand.

"**Suiton: Suigadon!**" From the water, two spinning fangs erupted and targeted Izumi, but his sand retracted and created a shield, defending the sand user. The Kiri nin then charged in while doing some hand-seals, jumped into the air and shouted "**Suiton: Mizurappa**". A large jet of water sprayed the area, with the Kiri nin hoping to get more sand wet or at least damp but was blocked by a shout of "**Doton: Doryuheki**". A mud wall rose from the ground, blocking the jet of water, and the force creating dust for cover.

Shiro rushed to flank the Suna nin with a kunai in hand and was successful, though his victory was not as planned. Many spikes of sand erupted and pointed towards him as he pressed the tip of the kunai to the Suna nin's neck.

"Well, this is a predicament." Izumi said.

"Indeed, I know neither of us are going to surrender, but it's worth the shot. So?" Shiro asked.

"Thanks for the offer but no." The sand ninja said.

Haru decided to cut in with a cough "Well, it seems there's a draw here. Match 2 is a Draw!" She announced the result of match two to the crowd, but the crowded cheered and applauded regardless.

**-Kage's Stand-**

"Well, that was interesting." The Hokage said.

"Oh yes, who would have thought to carry a water bottle to counteract the lack of water in the environment. I think Shiro has a high chance of becoming a chunin, he was able to change the environment using science to gain an advantage" The Kazekage spoke. Again, the other kages agreed and nodded.

**-Arena-**

"Will Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate come down? Your Match is up." The proctor yelled to the competitors booth. Both of them nodded and reappeared in front of the proctor with a shunshin.

"Alright you two, are you both ready?" Both Hayate and Yugao drew their katanas and nodded. "Very well then. Match 3 of the Chunin Exams, Hajime!"

In the competitors booth, Naruto was talking to Genryuu. "Hey Naruto-san, aren't both of them your teammates?" he asked. Naruto nodded. "Who do you think will win?" Naruto replied by saying "It's hard to say, but if it's a straight out kenjutsu match, chances are it'll be a tie." Genryuu nodded.

In the arena, both kenjutsu users stayed in their stances, the suspense was incredibly thick, and the crowd was silent. Then Haru yelled "You guys know the match st-" She was cut off by a resounding CLANG.

The two katanas were grinding against the other's metal, sparks were flying off of them. Yugao was able to twist her body to make Hayate lose balance, and give him a spinning kick to the head. Hayate stumbled back to regain his balance and rushed in with a slash. Again Yugao blocked, and Hayate continued on the offensive. Jumping back, Yugao then tried to slash at Hayate, and missed, but was able to cut just underneath the Konoha symbol on his bandana. Using the slight pause, Hayate then returned on the offensive, his strikes being faster this time. Then he created two bunshins, and Hayate with his copies jumped into the air. "Dance of the Crescent Moon!" he shouted, as the he and his copies slashed downwards at Yugao. The purple-haired girl was barely able to dodge and roll away from the strike. She then rushed in and once again their swords clashed, both people putting more pressure to overpower the other. Yugao attempted to kick Hayate after twisting her sword but missed, allowing Hayate to counter by channeling chakra into his blade and slashing at Yugao.

"Seems like first blood goes to me Yugao." Hayate said.

"Drawing first blood won't help you win." Yugao declared as she stabbed her sword into the ground and shouted "**Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu**". A large fireball was launched towards Hayate along with several shuriken that were hidden in the flames. Hayate jumped into the air to dodge the fireball and the shuriken. In the air, he began to rain kunai down at Yugao, but his plan was ineffective. "**Futon: Daitoppa**" Yugao shouted and watched as the kunai was sent flying in many directions, and the gust of wind hit Hayate straight at his chest. _"Perfect..."_ Yugao mentally grinned as her plan worked. She then ran to where Hayate had fallen and gracefully positioned her blade by his throat. "Surrender." was all she said. Hayate felt his coughs coming back and seeing that he had no options, reluctantly surrendered.

"Winner, Uzuki Yugao of Konoha!" Once again, the crowd applauded for the genin. Yugao smiled as she removed her blade from Hayate's throat and sheathed it. "Good job Hayate." She said. "*cough cough* You as well Yugao *cough*" Hayate said.

**-Kage's Stand-**

"An amazing show of kenjutsu that was." The Yondaime Mizukage said.

"Indeed, and an impressive use of ninjutsu to win." The Kazekage added.

"Truthfully, It seems that most of the genin may end up becoming a chunin. So far all of them had passed the standards" The Hokage said. "I have to agree with you Hokage-dono." The Mizukage said.

**-Arena-**

"Would the competitors of Match 4 come down now?" The proctor said impatiently.

"Alright alright we're coming." Amaya said as she hopped off the railing, landing in the arena.

"*Sigh* fine I'm coming." Hiroshi said as he then went for the stairs.

When he finally got to the arena, Haru then shouted "Alright, You two know the rules. You ready?" Both competitors nodded to her. "Very well, Hajime!" she said as she dropped her hand, and jumped out of the way once more.

Hiroshi immediately jumped back and unsealed two puppets, both covered in black, hooded cloaks. Amaya simply took out two kunai and held them in reverse grip, one in each hand.

The hoods on the puppets were then pulled down. "This is Scorpion and Dragon, the second I made in the one month period. Hope you like them." Then both their mouths opened, Scorpion began to shoot several senbon and Dragon had a flamethrower attached to it, launching a fireball at the Kiri nin. Dropping the kunai and quickly going through hand-seals, Amaya shouted "**Suiton: Suijinheki**". Water was raised from the ground and blocked the fireball, and the senbon stopped about halfway through the water wall. "**Kirigakure no Jutsu**" she said.

Using the mist created from the fireball and the water wall, a light mist appeared and covered the battlefield, enough for people to have problems seeing through the mist. Silently, Amaya moved to where the puppets were moving, and broke Scorpion with one strike and broke the joints of the Dragon puppet. Finally finished destroying the puppets, she moved to Hiroshi, but collapsed panting due to the little chakra she had left. Not having a soldier pill, she ran behind his back as the mist slowly retreated.

Pressing her kunai to his neck, she whispered "Forfeit now" in a slightly demonic voice. "Very well" the puppet user says as the mist vanished.

"I forfeit! I am low on chakra, and my puppets are broken, therefore I would not be able to continue fighting." The puppet user says.

The proctor looked at him and nodded. "Very well then, the Winner is A-" THUD! Amaya collapsed, and a medical team rushed to her to check on her. "She seems to have a bit of poison along with chakra exhaustion. The poison itself seems like a slow acting one that causes the victim to fall unconscious." The puppet user got a vial from his pouch. "Here's the antidote for it." He said as he went over to his broken puppets to reseal the pieces of them into two scrolls and walked to the competitors booth.

**-Kage's Stand-**

"Well, that was much quicker than the other matches." The Hokage said.

"Indeed, though I do not think that they should be promoted to chunin." The Kazekage said.

"I agree, both of them do not have much chakra. Hiroshi does not prepare in case his plans go wrong, while Amaya does not prepare supplies." The Mizukage states.

"All in all, the both of them need more training." The Hokage finished.

**-Arena-**

"Namikaze Naruto and Kazuo of Suna. Get down here." Haru called out for the two. Seconds later, Naruto's figure shimmered into existence in front of her and Kazuo hopped over the balcony.

"You two ready?" The proctor asks. Naruto nodded, while Kazuo was more vocal. "YOSH! I AM READY! I SHALL DEFEAT YOU AND BECOME A CHUUUUNIN!" the Suna nin shouted with a fist raised in the air. _"Dear Kami he's gonna be the Might Gai of Suna. I pity thee_ _Suna..."_

"Err, yea alright. Anyways.. Match 5. Naruto of Konoha and Kazuo of Suna, Hajime!" Naruto quickly decided to use Tsukiyomi for this fight and said zanpakuto materialzed into his hand. Naruto had never really needed to use Tsukiyomi's shikai before, but she said that some of her abilities should come instinctively to him. He saw Kazuo running towards him from the distance and raised his zanpakuto so that it was in front of his face. "**Tsukiyomi!**"

The blade shined and glowed white. The hilt changed into a four pointed star, and the hilt changed to a black decoration with what appeared to be chain links hanging from the end of the hilt. Naruto then pointed the tip of his zanpakuto at the Sand nin and his blade flashed once more.

The world was now black and white. It was still the stadium, but the sky was black and the moon replaced the sun. At the center of the battleground was Kazuo who seemed to be pinned on a cross. "For the next 8 hours, you shall be stabbed over and over again." Naruto's voice rang out from every direction. And so it began. "AAAAHHHHHHH!" Kazuo's screams of pain echoed out in the solitary world. "7 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds to go. Do you surrender?" Once again Naruto's voice rang from every direction, almost mocking the Suna nin in pain. "No! Nev-AAAAHHHHH!" Kazuo replied but screamed in pain once more as he felt another sword stab him. "I ask you again. Do you surrender?" Naruto said, slightly louder than before. Kazuo gave no reply this time, and once again screamed as another sword plunged into his body.

Back in reality, the world returned to what it was before the illusion in Naruto's eyes, though only one second passed in reality. The crowd was surprised when they saw Kazuo, who was just fine a moment ago, fall unconscious after Naruto's sword flashed. Then the proctor went up to the now unconscious sand ninja. "He's still alive, just unconscious. So tell me, what did you do Naruto?" The female proctor questioned his tactics. "Oh I may have tortured him for what may have seemed like 8 hours straight in a genjutsu." Naruto replied in an oddly innocent voice, talking as if he was discussing the weather with his friends. "Right... Uh Winner, Namikaze Naruto of Konoha?" The proctor declared to the crowded, rather confused about what happened. Finally, a medical team picked up the Suna nin and placed him on a stretcher, taking him to the medical ward.

"Okay, so the winner of match one was Naruto, two was a draw, three was Uzuki Yugao, four was also a draw, and five was Naruto again." She mumbled to herself.

"Alright, there will be a 15 minute break before the next round and final match." The crowd began to talk amongst themselves and give or receive cash based on who they bet on. Tenzo became a very happy man as he collected his winnings from the betting booth.

**-Kage's Stand-**

"Well, that was..." The Hokage began.

"Incredibly fast? Oh yes it was." The Mizukage finished for the blonde man.

"I honestly wonder what Naruto did though. Whatever technique he did must have been amazing, and he doesn't even look tired from both of his matches!" The Kazekage said. After seeing the abilities of all of the fighters, the three kages began discussing on who should be promoted to chunin.

**-15 Minutes Later, Suna Arena-**

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back from the break. We will now begin the second round and the final match." The crowded cheered in anticipation, many were excited to see the finalists' abilities pushed to their fullest, and were happy that they were getting their money's worth.

"Will Namikaze Naruto and Uzuki Yugao of Konoha come down please?" The female proctor shouted. Both appeared at the center of the arena with a shunshin.

"So Yugao, how do you want to do this? Kenjutsu only? Kenjutsu and Ninjutsu, or anything goes?" Naruto asked. "Let's go with anything goes." Yugao replied back.

"Anyways, Final Match of the Chunin Exams! Hajime!" Yugao jumped back and pulled out her Katana, while Naruto materialized Susanoo once more. Naruto then whispered his command phrase. "Call forth the storms, become my blade. **Susanoo**!"  
Then, to everyone's shock but Naruto's, the blade of his zanpakuto was transformed into a bolt of lightning, reminding the higher ranked ninja there of the Raijin. Naruto then settled in a stance with his blade pointing down, with the flames licking the blade.

The two finalists stood in their stances for what seemed like an hour, waiting for one of them to make the first move. The tension was thick between the two, even with Hayate's loud but comical cheering being heard. Yugao, finally losing her patience began to charge at Naruto, but Naruto swung his blade , and a wide wave of lightning was launched at the purple haired girl. Yugao's eyes widened as she was forced to jump into the air, unfortunately exposing herself, allowing Naruto to attack her. Naruto then silently flashed behind her and muttered "**Hado #1: Sho**". The force pushed Yugao back to the battlegrounds, though Yugao was able to roll and resume the fight quickly.

Yugao quickly sheathed her katana as she stood up and unsealed a fuma shuriken, and threw it at Naruto. Naruto easily dodged it, but did not see that there were several smoke bombs attached on the bottom side of the shuriken. When it landed beside Naruto, the smoke bombs exploded, leaving a lot of smoke surrounding Naruto.

_"Open your senses..."_ Naruto mentally said to himself as he used his reiyoku to search for Yugao. _"Behind!__"_ Naruto quickly spun around just in time to block Yugao's katana. Yugao was able to hide her shock just before she began on the offensive.

CLANG!  
CLANG!  
Clang!  
Clang!

The echo of metal striking metal was heard by everyone, who watched on as the two finalists had a vicious clash. The two blades were pressed against each other.

"Give up Yugao." Naruto playfully said.

"Never! You wouldn't either and I still want an all out spar." Yugao answered.

Their blades separated and Yugao went for a stab while Naruto blocked it with the side of his zanpakuto. Once again their blades separated as Naruto went for an upward slash, which was promptly intercepted by Yugao who countered with a downward strike. Both of their clothes had a few rips and cuts but neither of them had any real injuries.

Naruto's eyes glowed a light blue as their swords were grinding against each other once again, though no one noticed but Yugao, who decided to question it later. Unfortunately, because her attention was elsewhere, Naruto was able to overpower her easily and kick her away from him. Yugao mentally berated herself for getting distracted in the fight, but was able to dodge another wave of lightning by shouting "**Suiton: Suijinheki**". A wall of water erupted from the ground and defended the girl from the wave of electricity.

The clash of both techniques caused a flashy distraction. Naruto mentally grinned at the opportunity to end the match and flashed behind Yugao just as she was about to try and flank him. Yugao stopped as she saw the blade by her neck. "Damn it." She cursed.

"Well _Yu-chan_... What will it be? There's no shame in forfeiting, you did great." Naruto whispered into her ear. Yugao let out a sigh of defeat as she slowly nodded. "Awww, don't be so down Yugao, you made it to the finals, and you did amazing against me." Naruto praised Yugao, while Yugao gave him a small smile as he removed the blade from the purple haired genin's throat.

"Well, Winner of the Final Match and Chunin Exams, Namikaze Naruto!" The proctor shouted, though the crowded was speechless. Most of them may not have been ninja, but they knew talent when they saw it, and this group was by no doubt one of the most talented.

"Hey! What the hell? I thought we did just fine for some applause!" Naruto shouted at the crowd, snapping the audience out of their amazement.

**-Kage's Stand-**

The Mizukage turned to his fellow kages and said "They are most definitely some of the greatest genin to come. Don't you agree Hokage-dono? Kazekage-dono?".

"All of them shown high level of abilities and are easily mid-chunin by now" The Kazekage said.

Then the Hokage added his opinion "Indeed, Naruto, Genryuu, Shiro, Izumi, Yugao, and Hayate all deserve to be promoted to chunin ne?".

"Yes I agree with you. Amaya and Hiroshi both lacked training and preparation, which will get them killed in missions. Kazuo, we can't say anything about because we have no idea what happened to him." The Kazekage said. "I agree with you Kazekage-dono." The Mizukage added.

"Very well then, let us go down to promote them." The Kazekage spoke.

**-Arena-**

The three Kage's appeared at the podium and began their announcement.

"Namikaze Naruto, I congratulate you on winning the tournament. Now it is time to call out those who will become chunin!" The Kazekage said.

"Would the following competitors please come down now! Namikaze Naruto, Terumi Genryuu, Shiro of Kiri, Akasuna Izumi, Uzuki Yugao, and Gekko Hayate!" The Hokage announced. Very shortly after, the six contestants appeared in front of the podium, standing tall and proud.

"Each of you are being promoted to chunin for your own reasons! Shiro of Kiri, your preparations and strategies to create an advantage in the battlefield have earned you this promotion. Terumi Genryuu, your excellence in the shinobi fields and quick actions have earned you this promotion. Congratulations!" The Mizukage announced as he handed the Kiri flak jackets to the newly-promoted chunin.

"Akasuna Izumi. You're abilities and your quick thinking to try and change the battle to your favour have earned you this promotion. Congratulations!" The Kazekage said as he stood in front of the new chunin and handed him a Suna flak jacket.

"Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate, and Namikaze Naruto. The three of you are most likely some of the greatest genin to come out of Konoha's academy. Your excellence in each of the shinobi fields have earned you this rank. Congratulations!" The Hokage announced as he handed each contestant a Konoha flak jacket, which the three accepted with pride.

"Those of you who have not become chunin, it is not to say that you did badly. In fact, it was a very close decision since all you you showed a distinction in certain areas. Train hard and compete the next time!" The Kazekage spoke. "I thank you all for coming to see this year's Chunin Selection Exam! This concludes the finals of the exam!" The Kazekage finished.

With loud chatter, the crowd began to leave as the rest of the fighters and their jonin senseis went to meet their promoted chunin.

**-With Team 6-**

"Congratulations you three!" Tenzo said, seeming slightly happy to the three chunin.

"Thank you Tenzo-sensei." Yugao bowed to her sensei.

"Yeah, we wouldn't have been able to do it if you didn't teach us!" Naruto said, also seeming very happy.

"Yeah Tenzo-sensei. By the way, you seem extremely happier than usual. Did you win a killing from betting on us?" Hayate asked, knowing that something was odd. He received no reply.

"You did didn't you!" Yugao immediately rose from her bow and accused her sensei. "Where's our share?" Yugao glared at her sensei, slowly leaking out some of her killer intent.

"Indeed, where is our share. Perhaps you should give it to us now." Naruto said in a very sweet voice that Tenzo knew promised pain.  
"It would be a shame, if you were missing some parts, sensei..." Yugao appeared behind the man with her katana where the sun doesn't shine. Tenzo paled immensely from both of their open ended threats and gave in.  
"Fine fine, here's a quarter of what I won for each of you." The killer intent was stopped, and his face's colour returned as he pulled out a giant wad of bills for his three pupils.  
"Arigatou Tenzo-sensei!" Yugao chirped in a sweet voice that left Tenzo thinking. _"What the hell? She was just about to lop off a part of my body with killer intent, and now she's overjoyed?! What's wrong with her?!"_

Then the Hokage and his ANBU guards appeared before the group. "Okay people, it's late in the afternoon so we'll stay here for one more day and leave tomorrow at 6:00 AM. You three, I'll brief you on your new duties when we return to Konoha." The Hokage ordered, and the leaf ninja nodded to their leader.

**-Next Day, Konoha, Hokage's Office-**

The three newly promoted chunin just walked out of the Hokage's office, with their schedule for the month.

"Man I am either very lucky or very unlucky. I have gate duty tomorrow!" Naruto said. He had heard about what chunin is like from Kotetsu and Izumo, two people he had gotten to know in his time as a genin. They say it's incredibly boring.

"I'd say your unlucky! We get the day off tomorrow!" Yugao exclaimed.

"Indeed, by the way. About the jonin exams..." Hayate said.

"Hayate, you can't be considering to take the jonin exams already!" Yugao shouted.

"Hey hey easy there, no I wasn't. I was gonna ask if you two were gonna wait for a bit before you take the exams." Hayate said.

"Yeah I am. I might stay as chunin for another two years. You know, sharpen what I've got now and learn later." Naruto added.

"I agree with Naruto, one year doesn't seem like enough time. Besides we're only 10, people our age are still in the academy!" Yugao said, while Hayate nodded.

"Hmm. Maybe the three of use should take the jonin exams at the same time?" Hayate suggested. "Yeah sure. I don't see why not." Naruto added his opinion.

"Besides, that way we can see how much we've all improved!" Yugao chirped in as they walked by the park.

"Guys wait, you wanna relax at the park?" Hayate suggested once again.

"Sure, but I want dango!" Yugao whined.

"Fine fine, I'll get the dango for you." Naruto grumbled as he flashed away to the dango shop. "Yay!" Yugao shouted.

**-Dango Shop-**

Naruto reappeared at the door and walked in, and bumping into a purple haired teen. "Sorry lady." "Damn it gaki, that was some good dango too!" the purple haired teen said.

"Hey easy there. Fine I'll buy you another box." Naruto grumbled something incoherent about purple haired girls and their love for dango.

"Yay! Thanks gaki! Names Mitarashi Anko." The now known Anko took a pose, while Naruto face-faulted.

"Err, Namikaze Naruto. Nice to meet you." Naruto said as he walked to the cashier.

"Oh blondaime gaki! Get me an assorted box of dango." Anko said as Naruto took the order.

Returning to the door, Naruto handed one of the boxes of dango to Anko and flashed away to the park. "Damn it gaki! Didn't even let me thank him... Oh well, more dango!" said the purple haired dango lover.

**-Park-**

Naruto flashed to the park by the bench he and his friends always sat at.

"Assorted dango." Naruto announced as he opened the box for the three to enjoy.

"Arigatou Naruto-kun!" Yugao said as she gave him a bone crushing hug before savouring a stick of dumplings.

The three simply sat there, enjoying their dango and talking, with Naruto playing his violin for the three of them, and everyone at the park. Ten minutes later, Naruto stopped playing and frowned once he saw something come into his view. His friends then stopped and turned to where he was looking and saw is apparent family.

"Naruto, it's alright. We're here with you." Yugao tried to cheer her teammate up.

"Yo 'Ruto! You wanna have a spar?" Hayate called out.

A tick mark appeared on his face and Naruto's eye twitched dangerously. "Your on bastard!" The two boys ran to Training ground 6, while Yugao watched the two go. _"Never a dull moment..."_She thought as she ate the last piece of dango and shunshin'd to the training ground.

* * *

Translations

* * *

END CHAPTER!

Wow, over 9k words! I'm not exactly great at fight scenes, so feed back on that would be great! Thanks!


	7. Ch 7 Promotions and Life in Between

A/N: Long chapter for you! :D Once again, I thank you for your support, I'm only answering questions/comments concerning the story for this top portion. Also, there's a poll about the pairings on my profile. Check it out!

**KING OF ZA WORLD**: Thanks, had issues thinking of release commands that match the Susanoo's and Tsukiyomi's abilities, and hell yes Naruto will be definitely getting S-Rank jutsu, seeing as how Kido doesn't really count.  
**phoniex king 67**: Naruto doesn't actually care if the villagers accept him, but he wants them to at least know him before judging him.  
**too much(?)**: Just being siblings is quite boring in my opinion, especially in fanfics.  
**forbiddenfruitunloved**: Once again, I'm taking suggestions for pairings, as I said before, check out the poll.  
**snow rose**: No there is no Uchiha massacre, and no Naruto and Itachi won't be leaving Konoha because of being frames or some crap like that. Yes Nagato(Pain) and Konan will be in this story, however I'm trying to get them introduced without having it seem incredibly out of place. As for Akatsuki, I have no plans for it now.  
**ultima-owner**: Chances are he could, mostly because most Kage's won't see him as a really big threat and would underestimate him.  
**Patriot-112**: Even though Minato hates/dislikes Naruto, he is professional about his feelings towards Naruto when in public.  
**bankai777**: Just to let you know, Naruto won't be having a full fight with Minato anytime soon. If he did then Naruto would most likely lose. ATM I want to put Naruto at High A-Rank, but Minato is SS-Rank. Add in custom techniques such as Kido and the Hiraishin, well I want to save that for when Naruto leaves ANBU.  
**Duelwarrior**: Naruto won't be forgiving his parents I can tell you that, he will simply tolerate working with them. Unfortunately no Minato won't be killed, not anytime soon at least. Also Naruto doesn't have a strong relationship with other Daimyos or Kages as of now, therefore it wouldn't be believable if Naruto does spread word of his family's treatment towards him.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 7 Promotions and Life in Between  
**

* * *

**-Time skip 1 Year Later/ 7 Years after K.I-**

The three genin have been chunin for a year now, but today is the first day of the academy once again, though Naruto decided to walk with Itachi and his siblings instead of with his own sisters, knowing the fact that he could be with the Uchiha's without being berated.

_"I never thought I'd come back here, ever."_ Was the thought on Itachi and Naruto's minds as they saw the Academy building.

"Nii-san, Naruto-nii! What was the academy like for you?" A seven year old Sasuke asked the older pair of the group, snapping them out of their thoughts. Naruto smiled when he heard Sasuke call him "Naruto-nii", mainly because he wanted his own sisters to look up to him, but clearly that didn't work out. It was true that the Uchiha twins looked up to Naruto like a brother and role model.

"It was pretty boring for the most part since we usually stayed in the classroom." Naruto answered the raven haired boy's question.

Once the group reached Sasuke's and Sayuri's class, Itachi kneeled to their height and gave them a reminder. "Now listen Sasuke, Sayuri. Pay attention to the instructor in there, no matter how boring it may seem okay? And remember, there is no shame or weakness in asking a question or for help. Do you understand?" the oldest of the group said.

"Hai nii-san!" was the reply from both of the twins as Itachi and Naruto led them into the room.

"Hey Ruka!" Naruto said as he saw Iruka raise his head from the stacks of paper work he was filling out. "Hey Itachi, Naruto! It's been a while. So jonin and chunin now? the chunin instructor said in surprise as he greeted the two who gave a nod. "So what are you guys doing here on the first day?" Iruka asked.

"Just here to drop Sasuke-kun and Sayuri-chan." Itachi answered with the two coming from behind.

"Hiya dolphin man! Are you gonna be our sensei this year?" Sayuri asked as Iruka face-faulted and recovered. "That I am Sayuri. Why don't you and your brother go sit somewhere or talk to some of the other students."

Both of Naruto's and Itachi's eyes scanned the room. They saw a really pale boy drawing, the heirs of the Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara, and Akimichi clans in one corner of the class. In the other corner were the heiresses of the Yamanaka, Hyuuga and the rest were civilians whom were sitting in a seat.

"So a class of clan heirs and heiresses along with some civilians?" Itachi said. Just then the door opened again revealing the Namikaze family, with the twins at the front walking with an air of smugness. "I pity you Ruka. Well I'm gonna go train now. Later!" And Naruto's figure shimmered out of existence, while everyone in the class gasped with the exception of Minato and Itachi, the latter mumbled something that sounded like 'show off' and disappeared in a leaf shunshin.

"Hello Hokage-sama, Kushina-sama. I take it that these are the twins?" Both parents nodded. "If they're anything like their brother than they'll do just fine!" Iruka said, though Minato and Kushina frowned. "Well, I best start the class now." Once again, Minato and Kushina nodded and left.

"In a seat, now!" Iruka barked out at the students. They appeared in a seat after seconds. "Hello boys and girls, I am Umino Iruka, and I will be your academy instructor, so refer to me as Iruka-sensei. This year we will be..." And Iruka rambled on about what they'd do in year one, while mentioning the changes in the academy. All in all, it took everything Sasuke and Sayuri had not to fall asleep.

* * *

**-Time Skip 1 Year Later/8 Years after K.I-**

* * *

Naruto, Hayate and Yugao are all 12 now, and have been chunin for two years as of now. Once again they are found at the park eating dango while a clone of Naruto played the violin for all to here.

"So... how's your training been going?" Naruto asked.  
"Fairly well actually, I got a new katana and mastered another kenjutsu style. Seems like my coughs are gone for now." Hayate said, sounding quite healthy.  
"My training's been well. Learned a whole bunch of kenjutsu techniques and some ninjutsu here and there." Yugao added.  
"Same here, learned a lot of neat things with my swords." Naruto said as he ate the last dumpling on his stick and discarded the now plain stick. "So you two going for the jonin exams next month?" Yugao asked as she happily chomped on a piece of dango. Both boys nodded.  
"Great! We'll all be at the exams again. Hopefully all three of us make it." Yugao chirped.  
"I hear that some ANBU will be testing us individually." Naruto said, recalling that piece of information from overhearing Minato.  
"Then let's go to the jonin lounge to sign up!" Hayate said as Naruto took the violin from the clone and resealed it.  
"Sure, why not now?" Naruto asked, getting two nods from his long time friends.

**-Jonin Lounge-**

The three of them walked through the doors to get sign up for the jonin exams. As they walked to the desk where the sign-up sheets were, Naruto was glancing around the room.

On a couch was a silver-haired man wearing a mask and reading a very familiar orange book, Naruto recognized him as the Copy Ninja, or Hatake Kakashi, who would train the twins from time to time. Across from him was a bearded man with wearing standard jonin equipment with a sash across his belt that said "Fire", Naruto recognized him as Sarutobi Asuma, who would play Shogi with Naruto when he visited. Glancing around the room for anyone else he recognized, a voice called to him.

"Hey, blondaime gaki! What are you doing here?" A voice Naruto instantly recognized as Anko shouted from behind him.  
"Signing up for Jonin exams. What do you think?" Naruto asked, slightly annoyed.  
"Oi, Ruto! Hurry up!" Hayate shouted from the table, while Naruto's annoyance only grew.  
"Fine fine I'm coming, talk to you later Anko." Naruto said as he walked towards his friends.

"Hello Naruto, Yugao, Hayate. Nara Shikaku, Jonin Commander. I've heard much good news about you." Shikaku said.  
"Have you? About what?" Yugao asked the commander as Hayate and Naruto finished filling out their forms.  
"I'll take your forms. I've heard news about your abilities. They say that you are some of the greatest chunin to come. Slightly troublesome to work with though." Shikaku replied.  
"We aren't that special. Just three chunin going for jonin." Hayate told him.  
"Right... Well good luck at the exams in one month. Remember it's at ANBU headquarters." Shikaku drawled out.

**-Konoha Park-**

After signing up, the three chunin decided to relax at the park. Once again, they were sitting at a bench, discussing what they were going to do for the next month to prepare for the jonin exams, Naruto of course, was providing some music for the park.

"So, what are you guys going to do? I mean, I hear that some of the ANBU were going to test you, but it's probably going to be some jonin though." Hayate said.  
"Don't know, might just brush up on my skills." Yugao said. Naruto simply nodded as he continue to draw a crowd while playing the violin.

"Sugoi! Naruto-nii is good!" A familiar, childish voice called out. The crowd began to murmur, wondering who this Naruto was.  
"Indeed he is Sayuri-chan." Itachi said to his sister in the crowd.  
"Yo, blondaime-gaki! Your really good ya know that?" Another familiar voice shouted.

Naruto's eye twitched as he tried to hide his expression from the crowd, though Anko, Yugao, Hayate and Itachi all saw his annoyance. Once Naruto finished playing, he bowed to the crowd, who clapped and cheered in return.

"So, who exactly are you Naruto?" A random civilian asked.  
"Well, what do you want to know?" Naruto said.  
"Well, let's start with your name and family then." A very familiar dango shop owner said.  
"Well, I'm Namikaze Naruto-" At this the crowd began talking amongst themselves, checking if anyone knew that their Hokage had a son. "My apparent family you should know." Naruto cryptically said as he sealed his violin.

"Well kid, perhaps we should talk more sometime soon." The dango shop owner said.  
"Perhaps we should owner-san." Naruto said. "Well Yugao, Hayate. I'll see you in a month at the Jonin exam."

Naruto then walked away, feeling rather hungry, and walked towards a random restaurant to get something to eat. After wandering the streets for a while, Naruto came to a small restaurant called "Ichiraku Ramen". He decided to give it a try.

"Hello there, how may I help you?" A voice called out as Naruto took a seat and scanned the menu.  
"Namikaze Naruto, I'll have a miso ramen." Naruto said after deciding on his meal.  
"Call me Teuchi. I'll get that ready for ya kid." Teuchi said as he walked into the kitchen to make the ramen.

While waiting for his ramen, Naruto heard a scream. _"Sounds like a girl, I'm guessing around my age."_ Naruto thought to himself then called out to the ramen chef. "Hey, I'll be back in a minute alright?" and then he left to find the one who screamed.

Turning to a corner, Naruto saw a girl being bullied by some boys. "You shouldn't be at school. You're a girl!" One of the boys called as he pushed the girl into the wall. "P-please, st-stop..." The girl mumbled. "Oi!" The three bullies heard someone shout at them, and the apparent leader of the group was punched into a wall.  
"You know, it's rude to pick on a girl." Naruto said as the two scrambled to help their unconscious leader. "Now scram." Instantly, the bullies disappeared.

"Hey, are you alright? I'm Naruto." Naruto asked as he knelt down to the girl. "It's okay, no one's going to hurt you anymore." The girl looked up at him and quietly said a "Thank you".

"Anyways, where are you going?" Naruto asked the girl.  
"To my tou-san's restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen." She stuttered out, still afraid.  
"Well come on, I'm eating there too." Naruto said as he scooped up the girl bridal style and walked towards the ramen bar.

"My baby! What happened Ayame?" The ramen chef saw his injured daughter and stopped cooking. He then rushed to Naruto to see his daughter.  
"Apparently some boys decided to pick on her." Naruto answered for him as he gently let Ayame. "Don't worry, they were just pushing her around a bit too hard and scaring her."  
"I thank you Naruto-san!" The ramen chef bowed to Naruto, who shifted nervously. "Um, don't worry about it..." Naruto said.  
"Anyways, your ramens just about done." Teuchi set his daughter on a stool and went to finish cooking. He returned shortly with a steaming bowl of ramen.  
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto said as he began to enjoy his ramen. "Man this is good!" Naruto said in between slurps. Naruto quickly finished and payed his bill.  
"Old man you make some good ramen!" Naruto said as he waved good bye and left.

_"Gaki, come in your mindscape when you get the chance." _Susanoo said to his wielder.  
_"There is something we need to talk about.__"_ Tsukiyomi added.  
_"Fine fine, I'll come in a second."_ Naruto mentally replied to his a shunshin, Naruto vanished and reappeared in his room. Naruto then unloaded some of his equipment on his desk, went over to his bed, and began to meditate.

**-Naruto's Mindscape-**

"**Yo!**" A very odd voice called to Naruto.

"Yea Naruto, this is why we called you here." Susanoo said.

"It appears that you have another side of yourself." Tsukiyomi added.

"**Yeah I'm your other side. NOW UNTIE ME SO I CAN EXPLAIN!**" Naruto then saw a black and white version of himself tied to a tree, causing Naruto to stifle a laugh.

After untying the black and white Naruto, Naruto and his two spirits allowed the copy to explain. "**Well thanks for untying me, that was really tight you know that?**" The copy immediately said, while Susanoo and Tsukiyomi gave a nervous laugh.

"**Anyways, you remember when the twins hit you in your spars? Yea well, the negative emotions from the Kyuubi's chakra may have collected inside you, making me. As for what I am, I am you, or at least the manifestation of your negative emotions.**" Naruto nodded at his copy."**All of that sadness, hatred and despair, they made me. Suppose I am like a Hollow you.**" The hollow copy of Naruto continued.

Naruto then spoke up. "So what do I call you? Hollow is hardly the ideal name." The Hollow Naruto then pressed his thumb against his lip, in a thinking pose.

"**Eh I guess you can call me Yami.**" Yami said. He then continued. "**Usually, we fight for control over your body, but to be honest with you, I don't feel like doing that. Sure we can have spars but I know everything you know. It would be a waste of time if you want my opinion.**"

"So are you saying we work together?" Naruto inquired.

"**Sure why not? We live longer that way.**" Yami said. "**Just to let you know, if you want to call on some of my power, gather reiatsu with your hand, and slash down in front of your face.**" Yami finished as Naruto began to try the motions. "**Not like that baka... Lemme show you how it's done.**"

Going through the motions, the black and white Naruto placed his hand near the top of his head and brought it down, making a slashing motion. "**Just to let you know, you won't be able use the mask for long at first. That's all we really gotta talk about for now, so get the hell outta here.**" With that, Yami kicked Naruto out of his own mindscape, while Susanoo howling in laughter in the back.

_"Damn you. Revenge shall be savoured..." _Naruto thought to himself. He awoke and gave an insane cackle, thinking of ways to torture two of his "roommates".

**-One Month later, ANBU Headquarters-**

The chunins' training had gone very well. All of them could now say they could fight a jonin on even ground with their kenjutsu. Naruto, could call his mask for a full 15 minutes, and his mask even started taking a design. Naruto made his mask have two red lines going down the eye holes (Think of Ichigo's second mask). Naruto, Yugao, and Hayate walked into the ANBU headquarters, slightly nervous.

"Ah good, you made it." Came the voice of Shikaku Nara.

"Only three people? And they're kids." One of the ANBU members said.

"Would you like to test them, ANBU-san?" Shikaku asked, though the ANBU member disappeared.

"Anyways, would you three follow me to the training grounds?" Shikaku said. The chunin nodded and left with the Jonin Commander.

**-ANBU Training Grounds-**

Once the group arrived, they saw nine ANBU members. Near the top was a viewing platform where the Hokage and some other jonin stood.

"Alright, Gekko Hayate. Follow Rat, Owl and Snake to get your test done." Shikaku ordered, while Hayate nodded and left, eager to do his test.

"Uzuki Yugao, you're with Bear, Tiger, and Myself." An ANBU member with a wolf mask said. The girl nodded and left with the three ANBU.

"Alright Namikaze Naruto. You'll stay here to be tested by Hawk, Lion, and Shark." Shikaku said.

"Alright kid, here's how it works. We choose two things to test you on, and you choose the third one. We'll start with our choices first. Ninjutsu test." Lion said.

Naruto nodded at Lion. "Hajime!" Hawk shouted.

The two fighters jumped back a distance to prepare for their jutsu, though Naruto didn't need time to prepare for his plan. Naruto stretched his right hand forward and gathered reiyoku into his palm.

"**Hado #33: ****SOKATSUI!**" Naruto shouted.

From the ball of energy, a giant blast exploded forward towards the surprised ANBU member, decimating anything in its path. With wide eyes and quick reflexes, Lion hid underground, where it was safe from the blast.

_"Well I give this kid a pass already, an attack like that and he's not tired at all. Let's see what else he can do."_ The ANBU member thought to himself.

Lion jumped out of the ground and blew a giant flame at Naruto.

"**Suiton: Suijinheki!**" A wall of water erupted and cancelled out the fire. Naruto then threw a kunai through the mist which quickly multiplied into dozens.

The ANBU tester jumped and did some of his own hand-seals. "**Katon: Goka Messhitsu**". A small sea of fire rained down on Naruto, shunpo'd out of range and flashed towards the masked nin. "**Futon: Kaze no Yaiba!**" An invisible blade of wind flew in the air and slashed the ANBU's arm guard. Realizing the potential danger, Lion turned to where Naruto was and shouted "**Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!**" A large fireball quickly shot towards Naruto, who shunpo'd to the side and quickly closed the distance.

"**Wind Release: Wind Sword**"

Wind chakra enveloped Naruto's right hand as he attacked the ANBU member. Naruto continued his assault until the ANBU disappeared, and kicked him in the back, sending him into a tree.

"Good job gaki. You pass the Ninjutsu test." The ANBU member said. Then Shark appeared beside Lion.

"Well, it seems I'm next. This will be a kenjutsu test, now draw your sword." Shark ordered. Naruto nodded and Tsukiyomi and Susanoo materialized into each of his hands. Both ninja fell into their stances, and waited. They waited for the other, hoping that they would strike first so they could easily counter. After two minutes, Naruto realized that Shark wanted Naruto to attack first, and so Naruto indulged him.

Naruto created a kage bunshin who flashed forward to engage the ANBU in a kenjutsu battle. His clone was quickly dispelled, and Naruto caught parts of his stance and then flashed to engage Shark. The two clashed and the sounds of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the training area. Naruto would strike with Susanoo, and followup with a slash using Tsukiyomi. Their blades then clashed against each other, creating sparks. The ANBU then jumped back.

"Good job, but let's see how you do with one sword." the ANBU said as Naruto sheathed Tsukiyomi and let her vanish from sight. Naruto then gripped Susanoo with both hands in his stance, waiting for the ANBU to attack. In a burst of speed, Shark slashed at Naruto, but Naruto was able to block it. Naruto countered with a downward slash and continued on the offensive.

**-Balcony-**

The Hokage and jonin watching were surprised at the three chunins' skills. They were easily jonin level ninja, and one of them was able to push back an ANBU, which is no small feat for a chunin.  
"Leave it to Naruto to surprise us once again." Asuma spoke out loud.  
"Chances are he'll do some incredible technique and defeat the ANBU." Anko said.  
"And that first jutsu wasn't incredible?" Kakashi added, thinking back to the damage it caused.  
"Hmm..." The Hokage said, deep in thought. The three of them were easily jonin leveled, so he knew that they would be a great addition to the jonin forces.

**-Training Ground-**

Across three training grounds were three chunin battling three ANBU members in a kenjutsu fight. Hayate seemed to be doing okay, while Yugao was fairing quite nicely. Naruto, was doing nothing short of amazing.

Naruto continued to strike the ANBU, while flashing to a random side to catch him by surprise. With the last slash defended, the ANBU called out "Stop!".

"Okay, You pass the Kenjutsu test as well. That means that you get to choose what you're last test is on." Shark said.  
"Remember, you did Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu already. That means you have Taijutsu, genjutsu, fuinjutsu and medical techniques." Hawk added.  
"I don't know what to choose, so you pick." Naruto replied to the ANBU members.  
"You asked for it brat. Fuinjutsu it is!" Hawk declared.  
Shikaku stepped in and said "Alright then. Lion, go get Jiraiya-sama. He should still be at the hot springs right now." after checking his watch. The ANBU nodded and disappeared.

Five minutes later, Lion returned with Jiraiya, the latter had a broken nose.

"Should I even ask." Minato muttered. "Anyways, Jiraiya-sensei will be testing you on your Fuinjutsu. Jiraiya, you may test him anyway you wish." The Hokage declared.

"Alright then, get a few targets." An ANBU disappeared to fetch some targets for the test. "Gaki, here's the deal. I'll tell you a scenario, and you have to decide and make some seals for that scene. Your score depends on how fast and the effectiveness of the seal or seals. Understood?" Jiraiya explained to Naruto, who nodded.

"Very well then, here's the scenario. You are in a stealth mission to scout an enemy base and possible destroy it. One of your comrades is caught. You now have to find a way to use seals and save your ally without being caught. Time starts now." Jiraiya announced.

Naruto immediately began thinking of several seals that would be required for the mission. _"Alright, so I will need an invisibility seal, paralysis/memory eraser seal, and perhaps a seal to kill the enemies and destroy the base. So explosion perhaps?"_ Naruto quickly took out a brush, sealing ink and some blank sealing tags. With expert calligraphy, he drew two invisibility seals, several paralysis and finally, one high powered explosive tag. "Done." Naruto announced.  
"4 minutes and 51 seconds. Pretty good. Now let's see what you've made." Jiraiya said. He then looked over each seal, none of them he recognized.  
"Where did you learn this from kid?" The Toad sage asked.  
"Would you believe me if I designed them myself?" Naruto said.  
"I might not, but these are incredible, especially for a sealer your age. Two invisibility seals, paralysis seals, and an explosive tag? Seriously kid?" Jiraiya questioned his last seal, though Naruto just took it, slapped it on a kunai, and threw it at the targets in the distance. To everyone's further shock, an incredibly large explosion was created. It had to be a radius of 60 feet or so. Everyone stared at the explosion sight with very wide eyes.

"Enough with the fish eyes. So tell me, how did I do?" Naruto said slightly impatient.

**-Balcony-**

"Well, they've certainly got potential, 'specially that blonde kid." A random jonin said.  
"Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if all of them make jonin." Asuma added.  
"That explosion was incredible. Just think of all the seals he can make for the T&I." Anko said dreamily as her mind wandered off, thinking of various was to torture her victims with seals. Most people sweatdropped.  
"Seems like the three of them are done their tests. I better go down to congratulate them now." The Hokage says as he vanished from the balcony in a swirl of leaves.

**-Training Ground-**

Each chunin had finished the test, and had gathered to discuss what their test was like.

"I did *cough* pretty well,*cough cough* they tested me on Kenjutsu and *cough* Ninjutsu, but I flunked the Taijutsu test because of *cough* my coughs." Hayate said, slightly sad.  
"They basically did the same for me. I did Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, though I had a bit of trouble with genjutsu." Yugao said.  
"They chose Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu for me. Not sure how I did for the last one because Ero-Raiya didn't say." Naruto added his results.  
"Leave it to you to call a sannin that." Yugao said.  
"Alright you three, come on." Shikaku drawled out as he walked over. The three nodded and followed the lazy commander.

**-At the Same time-**  
The nine ANBU testers stood in front of the Hokage. "Alright then, please give me your reports, starting with Hayate's group." The ANBU proceeded to tell the Hokage their reports, starting with Hayate, then Yugao, and lastly Naruto.

"So, I would like to hear from you. What do you recommend for the three?" Minato asked the ANBU. Owl, Tiger, and Shark stepped forward.  
"I recommend Gekko Hayate for Tokubetsu Jonin. His skills are good, but his coughs get in the way of things." Owl said, and then stepped back as Minato nodded.  
"I recommend Uzuki Yugao for Jonin. Her skills in each of the tested fields are more than adequate." Tiger reported, and then stepped back.  
"I recommend Namikaze Naruto for Jonin and/or the ANBU Corps. His skills in each of the tested areas are simply astonishing." Shark reported and stepped back into line.

"Very well then." Minato said and then disappeared to congratulate the three nin on their promotions.

**-Balcony-**

The room was now cleared with the exception of Naruto, Yugao and Hayate, who stood in front of the Hokage.

"Thank you for coming. Now, I would like to congratulate you three on your promotions." Minato declared.

"Firstly, Gekko Hayate. You are being promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin because your skills are great, but your coughs get in the way. You'll have to check in with Tsunade-sama at the hospital. Secondly Uzuki Yugao. You are being promoted to Jonin because of your skills in the tested areas have surpassed all expectations. Finally, Namikaze Naruto. You are being promoted to Jonin because of your extraordinary skills. You have also been recommended to the ANBU corps. Congratulations you three!" Minato announced.

* * *

***Time Skip One Year Later, 9 Years after K.I***

* * *

Naruto, Yugao and Hayate are seen sitting in the Jonin lounge, with everyone else hungover from celebrating the anniversary of the defeat of Kyuubi. Then it happened. Their commander, Shikaku Nara, walked to an empty area and opened a Shogi table with a grin. He actually GRINNED. He then glanced at everyone and cleared his throat.

"Listen up! I understand that everyone is hungover." At this most people nodded. "Let's make a deal then. If one of you are able to beat me in a game of shogi, everyone gets the day off. If not, too bad." Many people saw a gleam in his eye and knew it was no good. The Nara clan were some of the greatest strategists, and best shogi players. Most people thought it was hopeless, but Naruto had another plan.

"Guys, I'll be back in a few minutes, or a few hours." He stood up and announced to his friends.  
"Good luck Ruto..." Hayate drawled out. Naruto didn't even bother to twitch at him.

"Finally someone steps up..." Shikaku drawled out.  
"Bastard, you planned this didn't you?" Naruto accused his commander.  
"Of course I did." Shikaku said as if it was the obvious.  
"Fine, challenge accepted." Naruto declared.

And so it began. An intense battle of shogi was started. Naruto started by moving a pawn, and Shikaku did the same.

**-5 Hours Later/ ? Moves later-**

Five hours into the game, and Naruto was sweating profusely. _"Damn, Shikaku's really good at this... Damn it what can I do?"_ Naruto mentally asked as he scanned the board. In the back, people were making bets on who would win, seeing as how this is the longest someone's ever matched the commander at shogi.

_"There!"_ Naruto saw a good option and went to move his Silver General and took one of Shikaku's pieces.  
_"I don't believe it. This kid is amazing. Five hours and he's still playing me, most people lose after five and give up after 30 minutes. I suppose Asuma wasn't making things up."_ The jonin commander thought to himself while moving a piece, but heard a word he'd never hear used against him.

"Checkmate Shikaku-sama." Naruto declared. Everyone then gazed at the board, Naruto actually won against Shikaku! Everyone then went to Yugao and handed her a wad of bills, mumbling something about blonde haired strategists.

"I-, I-, I don't-. I don't believe it!" Shikaku exclaimed in utter shock. He had been defeated in shogi, no one could say that they beat Shikaku in shogi, not until now. The feeling of defeat and the shock was overwhelming.  
"Naruto, would you care to join me for a game of Taiyoku Shogi someday?" The Nara asked, hoping for a chance at redemption. Instead of a response, he got an incredibly pale, and unconscious blonde jonin. The Nara sighed.  
"Damn it, someone get him checked up so we know he doesn't have a heart attack?" Shikaku drawled out. Yugao and Hayate decided to bring him to the hospital.

**-Hospital, Room 217-**

"Don't worry you two. Your friend is just fine. Nothing is abnormal in his body. It was most likely hearing something incredibly shocking that caused him to lose consciousness. Chances are he'll wake up in an hour or two." The nurse said. Yugao and Hayate sighed in relief. Then Hayate spoke up.

"Well Yugao, since we're here, I might as well go to Tsunade-sama to get checked up." Hayate said, pulling out an old note from the Hokage. Yugao nodded and then left to Tsunade's office.

**-Next Day, Uchiha Compound-**

"Hey Itachi!" Naruto called out when Itachi and his siblings came into view.  
"Hello Naruto-kun." Itachi greeted. His siblings had much more emotion in their greeting.  
"Ohayo Naruto-nii!" Both of the twins said as they went to hug him.  
"Hey Sasuke-kun, Sayuri-chan! Been good for Itachi and your parents?" Both twins gave a smile and nodded.

"So Naruto-kun. How's it been for you?" Itachi asked, slightly concerned after hearing that he was in the hospital.  
"Same as usual at home, but yesterday was something else." Naruto said as they walked inside the house.  
"Sasuke, Sayuri. Do your homework now, I'll be around long enough to play with you after." Naruto said the the two as they ran to their rooms.

"Anyways, you remember Shikaku, jonin commander?" Naruto asked.  
"How could I forget?" Itachi simply replied.  
"Well, yesterday everyone was incredibly hungover, so he cracked open a shogi board." Naruto continued.  
Itachi then cut him off "Let me guess, you tried and lost after a few minutes." as he was making tea.  
"No on the contrary actually. The game lasted five hours. FIVE HOURS! I had to make a clone get food twice!" Naruto exclaimed."Anyways, He said that if anyone could beat him in shogi, we got the day off. So I challenged him, and the game lasted for five hours. AND I WON!" Naruto shouted in happiness.  
"Congratulations Naruto-kun, but I feel that you aren't saying something." Itachi said to his surrogate younger brother after sipping his tea.  
"Well, um, remember how you heard that I was in the hospital yesterday? Um, well, Shikaku offered a game of Taiyoku Shogi..." Naruto nervously said.  
Itachi visibly paled at the name of that blasted game, and with Shikaku of all people. "I see..." was all Itachi said.

Fifteen minutes later, the two ninja heard a shout. "Itachi-niisan! Naruto-nii! We're done!" Sasuke and Sayuri came running down the hall shouting to their brother and brother figure.

"Alright you two, what do you want to do now?" Itachi asked his siblings.

"Let's go to the park again! We don't go there too often anymore!" Sasuke said, while Sayuri added on. The older pair of the group chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"Alright then, Itachi, take them to the park. I'll go get my violin." Naruto said as he shunshin'd away, just missing a shout of 'Yay!'.

**-Park, Noon-**

Itachi was sitting at a bench with Naruto, both were watching the twins play while Naruto played a happy tune with his violin. Everyone was enjoying themselves as they never had much time to relax or go to the park now that the twins were in the academy, and Naruto and Itachi were taking missions. Naruto continued to play until he sensed his 'family' near the park entrance and tried to ignore their presence. Trying to hide his sadness and discomfort, he continued to play, though only Itachi saw his emotions.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the Namikaze family was coming in his direction, so he tried his best to forget. Then his brother figure snapped him out of his thoughts.  
"Naruto, it seems the twins are hungry, think you can get us some thing to eat?" Itachi said. Naruto smiled at him, knowing that he was trying to help him and left without hesitation.

"I hope you mind me asking Itachi-san, but who was that?" Kushina asked the Uchiha.  
"A good friend of mine and of the Uchiha clan." Itachi said cryptically. Minato and Kushina could only nod, while the Uchiha twins gave a small frown seeing the Namikaze twins, who just happened to be incredibly arrogant. The Namikaze sisters, knowing who Itachi was referring to, frowned because they couldn't see their nii-san, even if to simply insult him. Just as they left, Naruto returned with some food for the group of four.

"Dig in guys!" Naruto said as he laid out the box of rice balls on the table. The four said a quick 'Itadakimasu' and ate the food.

**-That Night-**

Yet again Naruto is lying on his bed, unable to sleep. Tomorrow was his day off. He had no idea how to use it. _"Perhaps I should go to the administrative office and get my last name dropped. Then look for an apartment"_ Naruto mused. After many solo missions and many more high ranked missions, Naruto had acquired a wealth of money, more than enough to rent an apartment room.

_"**Oi Naruto. Come in the mindscape.**"_the voice of Yami called out from his mind. Naruto nodded and entered his mindscape.

**-Naruto's Mindscape-**

Naruto found Tsukiyomi reading a romance novel he had read in his earlier years, while Susanoo and Hollow were playing cards.

"About time Naruto." Susanoo called out in his usual gruff voice.

"Indeed, It's time we fully explained our abilities and talk about Bankai training." Tsukiyomi said in her melodious voice. On the sides, Yami was attempting to make a card pyramid.

"I'll start then." Susanoo said. "My shikai reigns over storms, that means wind, rain or water, and lightning. Now you have the option to use any of them, or use storm element. When you call out my command phrase, my blade glows. You remember right? That's just a white glowing blade with my shikai's hilt and guard. Now, you can change the element to wind, water, lightning, or storm whenever you feel like it. When you do that, the blade takes special abilities. With me so far?" Naruto nodded.

"Good, I don't want to repeat this. The hilt's four prongs will connect, making a pinwheel guard of sorts. The blade, oh man you'll love this. It becomes electrically charged in it's standard form, and you can change it from the normal shikai, to a blade of wind or a blade of lightning. When using wind, I will cut through just about anything, even chakra blades. With lightning, you can use it like a whip, or a sword, the change is instantaneous. Also, you have near complete control over the four elements. Next up are my attacks. Again, they can be used with water, wind, lightning or storm element with storm being the strongest. The first attack you used when you first learned my name, Tempest Breaker. Basically, you charge my katana with reiyoku, any element, and it gets launched when you release it. Mind you that you don't have to release it and just keep it stored in my blade to augment your own attacks. Keep in mind that you can make techniques as time goes by." Susanoo finished his lecture on his abilities.

"Well seeing as he's done, I guess it's my turn." Tsukiyomi mused. "Well, I'll try to keep it short. My abilities reign over illusions. You've already seen my shikai, so just to give you a brief description, it becomes a grey-ish blade, the hilt becomes a four pointed star, and the hilt is black and white, and there are nine chain links at the bottom." Tsukiyomi summarized her shikai's appearence and continued.

"One of my techniques is actually connected to a technique the Uchiha clan would use should they gain the Mangekyo Sharingan. It basically brings the victim(s) into a separate world where you control space and time. The main purpose of this technique is torture, without physically hurting the victim(s). Remember the illusion you used to stab that sand nin for 8 hours, but it was only one second in reality? That technique. However, it does use up a quite a bit of your reiyoku, just a warning. My second technique is casted upon the victims or over an area. It casts an illusion where things can go in the best case scenario, or whatever you make it. Perfect for infiltration, which you seem to do plenty of. Like Susanoo, you can make more techniques to use." Tsukiyomi finished her lecture on her abilities.

"Lastly before you go, we need to start our Bankai training. Our estimation was that it would take a year or two for you to achieve. It's divided into two things." Tsukiyomi said.

"First, you need to meditate, you need to do Jinzen, or sword meditation. To become one with the blade." Susanoo said in a surprisingly sage-like voice. " You have to be able to call us into your world and fight us." He continued."If you beat us, then you will achieve bankai, if not, hopefully you live for next time. Now get outta here. " He finished nonchalantly and booted Naruto from the mindscape yet again.

"**KAMI DAMN IT. I'LL KILL YOU SUSANOO!**" Yami shouted at Susanoo as he watched the giant pyramid crumble and fall over.

**-Next Day****-**

Naruto is heading to the Shinobi Administrative Office.

"Hello, How may I help you?" The woman at the desk asked.  
"I'd like to have my last name removed or changed if necessary." Naruto said. The woman nodded.  
"And you are?" She asked.  
"Namikaze Naruto" The blonde jonin replied.  
"Alright then Naruto-kun, would you like your last name removed or changed?" The woman asked.  
"Removed if you could please." Naruto politely answered.  
"Alright, it's done. Though I hope you don't mind me asking, why are you getting it removed. Is it personal issues?" The worker asked. Naruto nodded.  
"Yeah, something like that." And the jonin left to find an apartment.

Walking around Konoha, Naruto found several free apartment rooms for sale, though many of them were small. Just then he found yet another sign advertising apartment rooms, Naruto decided to check it out. The inside of the building was clean, simple, yet elegant. Naruto knew that he would find a nice room here. He walked up to the secretary to ask about the apartment room.

"Hello Miss, I was wondering how much an apartment room costs." The woman nodded and gave him the average price and the average cost of rent.  
"That sounds quite nice. May I rent a room then?" Naruto asked  
"Of course sir, here's the contract. Please sign here, here and here." The woman gave him the contract to sign. Naruto signed it, knowing that he would be able to pay for it.  
"Thank you very much sir, here is your key. Try not to lose it. Your room number is 247. Have a nice day!" The woman said as Naruto went up the stairs to see his new living space.

**-Apartment Room 247-**

Naruto unlocked the door to his room and opened it. He was shocked. The room was big, but still considered small. It was incredibly spacious as well. In front of him was a living room which had a couch, table, bookcase, and a desk with a chair across from it. Beyond that was a balcony, Naruto would leave that for night time. To his left was a small hallway which led to a closet, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The closet was clean but empty. The bathroom held most things you would think were in a bathroom, a toilet, shower stall, sink, and cabinet. The bedroom had a decent-sized bed with a small drawer, mirror, and a closet. At his right was a small kitchen with a counter top. The place was small, but Naruto liked it and would make do with it until he could find a permanent house.

Naruto walked over to the desk and unloaded some of his things onto the surface. He then turned to the door and drew a seal on it so only he and select others could enter. He grinned as he left to get the rest of his things in a shunshin.

**-Namikaze Compound, Naruto's Room-**

Naruto reappeared in his room with a giant sealing scroll, similar to the one Jiraiya would often wear. As he unwrapped the scroll, he walked to where all of his paintings laid and smiled as he sealed them, remembering the happy memories he had as a child. He then went to his desk and took out every sheet of paper, every note, and every utensil and sealed them into the scroll. Then he walked over to his bookcase and sealed the books there as well. In the bathroom, Naruto sealed everything he needed from there and walked out. Finally, he sealed all of his clothes into the scroll. Even though Naruto didn't like the Namikaze family, he was honourable, and would not take what wasn't rightfully his. So he left everything that he himself didn't buy, such as the desk, and the bed. Finally finished, Naruto walked over the the door, and removed the seal it had.

Naruto sighed. He felt happy that he wouldn't be connected to the Minato, or Kushina, or the twins. After the sadness he went through, he felt relieved, he felt free in a sense. Just as he was about to shunshin, he sensed malicious chakra once again. _"Kami Damn it. Not again Akane..."_Naruto thought to himself as he unsealed chakra suppressing seals and left towards the evil chakra to investigate.

**-Namikaze Training Ground-**

"Well I'll be damned." Naruto said to himself when he landed near Minato. The twins who were training to use three tails were slightly out of control, scratch that they were berserk. What they saw next surprised them. The red chakra cloaking the twins detached from each twin and combined in front of them, shaping itself to a human form. Then in a flash of light, Akane appeared where the red chakra once was.

"**You know, if I don't lend you my chakra, chances are it's for your own good.**" Akane said. "**Oh hello Naruto, didn't expect to see you again, not after seeing my containers' lives... It sucks to be quite frank.**" Akane said out loud.  
"I'd imagine that being sealed into anything would suck... So, mind explaining what happened this time?" Naruto nervously replied with a sweatdrop growing.  
"**What do you think? I was helping them so I can live longer.**" Akance said as if it was the obvious.  
"Alright, Kyuubi. How do you know him?" Minato demanded the red head beauty.  
"**Met him years ago when their bodies were adjusting to my chakra.**"Akane pointed to the twins and replied nonchalantly once again. "**But seriously, teach those two a bit of humility.**" Akane added.  
"Leave, Now" Minato demanded again.  
"**It's far too boring in there, the don't even come in and chat.**" Akane replied back.  
"Well if that's it, then I'm gonna go now..." Naruto hesitantly said as he now grew a massive sweatdrop. Akane nodded and and split into two, returning the chakra to the respective seals while Naruto flashed back to his apartment to unload everything.

None of them heard the twins mumble "Nii-san, where are you...".

**-Some time later-**

After Naruto finished unpacking everything, he then decided to get something to eat, his stomach agreeing with his decision. Now, Naruto was sitting in Ichiraku Ramen, wolfing down a hot bowl of ramen.

"So, anything new Naruto?" Ayame said as she served him his second bowl.  
"Well, I bought my own apartment room, but nothing else besides that." Naruto said in between slurps.  
"Really? What's it like?" Ayame asked, truly curious.  
"Well it wasn't as big as a house, but it was still pretty nice." Naruto said as he finished the noodles.  
"Ah I see..." Ayame said out loud.  
"Well here's the pay. I'll see you later Ayame-chan. Bye!" After paying the bill Naruto waved good bye and left the small ramen stand.

It was now the evening, and Naruto was simply wandering around Konoha, wondering what to do.

_"I wonder if I should sign up for ANBU..."_ Naruto thought to himself, and then noticed that he was walking towards the ANBU headquarters. _"Eh, why not? What could possibly go wrong?"_Naruto silently mused.

**-ANBU Headquarters-**

"Gaki, what are you doing here? This is ANBU HQ you know?" A random ANBU member said.  
"I'm here to sign up. What else could I possibly be here for?" Naruto said. The ANBU member sighed.  
"Commander's office is down the hall and to the right. You won't miss it." He said, and left to continue his duties. Naruto nodded and headed that direction.

"Alright kid, what do you want?" The commander asked in a gruff voice.  
"Here to sign up. Was recommended for this at my jonin exam a year ago." Naruto said, straight to the point.  
"Name?" The ANBU Commander asked after he pulled out a form.  
"Naruto. No last name." Naruto replied back.  
"Reasons for joining?" The commander continued the survey.  
"To become stronger, to help Konoha from the shadows, and to protect those precious in my life..." Naruto cryptically said.  
"Alright then. That's good. You have goals. Any health issues?" Naruto shook his head." No? Alright then. You seem good so far. Swing by tomorrow at 10:00 AM and we'll have you tested, see if you fit in the ranks." The ANBU commander said, Naruto nodded and left for the door. Naruto was stopped before he left.  
"Naruto, wait. I hope you understand what you're getting yourself into. Just a warning." The commander warned Naruto.  
"Thanks sir, but trust me. I do know what I'm getting into." Naruto said and left with a flash.

**-Next Morning 9:00 AM-**

"I still can't believe your actually joining the ANBU Corps 'Ruto!" Hayate said. The group of three were currently walking along Konoha streets to see Naruto do his ANBU Test.  
"You shouldn't be surprised. He was recommened at our Jonin Exams. We were 12 that time and we're 13 now." Yugao said.  
"Relax, it's no big deal. I'm just going to do my ANBU test today and get my codename after. No pressure." Naruto said rather lax.  
"Whatever you say 'Ruto." Hayate said, though Naruto was able to contain his twitch.

**-ANBU Headquarters-**

"Welcome back gaki. Glad you didn't back out at the last minute." The Commander awaited Naruto at the entrance and greeted the blonde.  
"Not a chance, anyways. Are we beginning now?" Naruto asked with some hope.  
"Yeah we are. Follow me to the training ground where you'll be tested. Your friends can come watch as well." The Commander said and the three followed the ANBU.

Once the group arrived, they saw five ANBU members awaiting them.  
"Okay Naruto, these four here will be testing you in strategy, genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and kenjutsu. Your testers are Turtle, Cat, Tiger, Wolf, and Shark respectively. Just to let you know, you're allowed to go all out." The Commander said as the five ANBU and Naruto nodded at him.  
"You may begin the strategy test Turtle." Turtle nodded and broke out a shogi board.  
_"Man I have this in the bag."_ Naruto thought to himself, seeing as how he beat Shikaku in shogi not too long ago.

**-One and a Half Hours Later-**

"Checkmate Turtle-san" Naruto said, victorious in another shogi battle.  
"Congrats kid, you pass the strategy test." Turtle cleaned up the shogi board and stood by the commander to watch the rest of the test.

"Alright, Genjutsu is next." Cat said. Naruto nodded and brought out Tsukiyomi.  
"Envelope the world in your presence, **Tsukiyomi!**" Naruto's sword changed into it's shikai,and glowed a light blue. Then it casted an illusion onto everyone.

It was now night time, a moonless sky above. An ominous purple sky covered the land. Dead bodies, blood, screams were in the area. A thunderous roar was heard in the distance. In the horizon was something of an oddity. Instead of a giant nine-tailed demon fox razing the village, it was a grey, ten-tailed wolf destroying everything in it's path. Then saw the group in the corner of its eye, and turned towards them. With some killer intent, the group was petrified. The giant demon wolf began charging a giant orb of demonic chakra, and it shot off towards the group. Luckily, the illusion rippled, and dispelled before it hit.

"Dear Kami that was scary." Cat said, regaining his breathe, and his composure.  
"What in the name of Kami was that Naruto?" The commander asked, though it came out slightly demanding.  
"As a child I would read very often, and many books were on history and ancient history, such as the biju." Naruto said. Then he continued. "Apparently, there are only 9 biju known to the world. There could be more. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer if there were only nine but you have to consider the possibility." Naruto explained. "The ten tailed wolf was just my imagination." The blonde finished.

"Um, yes well you pass the genjutsu exam. I'm sure that if you don't become an ANBU the T&I would welcome you with open arms." Cat said, slightly joking but slightly serious as well.  
"Next up, Ninjutsu test brat. Get ready." Tiger said. "Hajime!"

Naruto immediately went on the offensive, opening with "**Hado #1: Sho**". Tiger was pushed back a distance, enough for Naruto to do a lengthy set of hand-seals.  
"**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!**" From the water molecules, a great water dragon appeared and shot towards the ANBU. Naruto sensed the ANBU's location and flashed towards him. Before he could, he heard a shout from the dust.

"**Doton: Doryudan**" A dragon of mud shot towards Naruto, with some kunai that appeared to have exploding seals on them. Naruto knew the ANBU's plan and flashed forward instead of jumping.  
_"Sorry, none of that for you ANBU-san." _Naruto thought.

Tiger cursed, knowing that his plan did not work, and remained on guard.  
"**Hado #31: Shakkaho!**" With wide eyes and honed instincts, Tiger was able to dodge, and see the destruction caused by the red explosion.

_"And he's not even close to being tired..."_ Tiger mused, and then he heard it. A demonic voice doing a chant of sorts. It seemed like the voice was coming from all around him. Playing it safe, the ANBU used an earth jutsu and hid in the ground, out of destruction's path.

_"So close yet so far...__"_ Naruto thought to himself as he watched the destruction, but quickly began a set of hand-seals

The ANBU reemerged from the ground, and was met by five dragons, one for each element.

"How do you like it? It's one of my own creations. **Ninja Art: Five Elements Dragon Fury!**" Naruto shouted. The five dragons swirled around the ANBU member and attacked. First was a barrage of fireballs from the dragon of fire, then the earth dragon crashed into his position. The remaining four flew up and curved down, crashing into the ANBU member. By a stroke of luck was Tiger able to survive.

_"Dear Kami. That was amazing. Just what else does this kid know?"_ Tiger thought to himself.  
"Enough gaki, you pass. So many destructive techniques and mastery over elemental chakra, and your nowhere near tired." Tiger said after evaluating the quick fight.

**-With the Others-**

"Impressive." The Commander said.  
"That was an amazing technique he used at the end. I wonder where he learned it, because I'm sure there's no such technique as that yet." Cat mused.  
"Indeed, it seems like he will become an ANBU." Wolf said.  
"Sugoi, Naruto's a lot better than before." Yugao said.  
"I can't wait to see the kenjutsu fight." Hayate said, Yugao nodded and slightly drooled at the thought of seeing kenjutsu experts fight. Naruto was one of the greatest kenjutsu users she knew, and in her mind, a kenjutsu expert.

**-With Naruto-**

"Sweet, Taijutsu's next right?" Naruto asked eagerly.  
"Yes it is Naruto-san." Wolf stepped towards the blonde.

"Hajime!" Cat shouted.

Naruto jumped back a few feet, to put some distance in between, and fell into his Hakuda stance. Wolf was confused when he didn't recognize the stance, but didn't pay any mind to it. Wolf expected Naruto to charge in and begin attacking, but Naruto knew better than to do so. Instead of falling for the obvious trap, Naruto flanked his side with a flash, and a fierce taijutsu fight pursued. Each strike was blocked, and every kick was dodged or countered. Everyone watching was amazed, and they began to draw a crowd as word of a possible addition to the ANBU corps was spread.

Both of them finally separated from the fight and jumped back a distance. Both fighters were panting and injured to a small extent. Naruto had a few bruises here and there, but it wasn't as bad as Wolf, whom had a few bruises, one broken rib and a slightly cracked masked. Once again they closed the distance and fought in a deadlock. Strikes were given, and Wolf was able to kick Naruto away and regain some lost energy.

Naruto was able to stand up slightly shakily, and felt a rib break, but nothing incredibly horrible. He flashed in front of the ANBU and greeted him with an elbow to the chest. Naruto began his assault afterwards. After the elbow strike, Naruto started attacking Wolf with a volley of punches and thrusts. He was relentless and merciless in his assault. Naruto then jumped upwards and kicked the ANBU in the neck. Poor Wolf was unable to breathe...

Flashing towards the ANBU before he could regain his balance and guard, Naruto kneed him and began one of his signature taijutsu attacks. In many bursts of speed and flashes, the ANBU was hit back and forth with kicks and strikes. It was unforgiving. Finally Naruto stopped his barrage of attacks and let Wolf fall, not before grabbing the wolf mask and throwing him at the ground. Letting out a sigh, Naruto wiped some of the sweat off his face.

"Oh man..." Naruto panted and plopped down on a patch of grass and coughing up a bit of blood.

**-With the Crowd-**

"Sweet Kami, even though Wolf was a recent member, he was still one of our top taijutsu fighters." The ANBU commander said, shocked that a jonin for one year was able to beat one of the top Taijutsu users in the ANBU, and come out relatively fine. Most others were too shocked to speak, but nodded in agreement.  
"Well, it seems like Naruto-san will become an ANBU..." Cat said.  
"Indeed, if he's as good at kenjutsu as he is in taijutsu, we'll have a blast working together." Shark said. Not many people knew, but Shark was one of the few kenjutsu users in the ANBU, and he was incredible at it.  
"Man, can't wait for the kenjutsu battle." Hayate said. Yugao nodded.

**-With Naruto-**

After an ANBU member took Wolf to the hospital, Shark appeared before him.  
"Well gaki, if you didn't know, you passed taijutsu. I'll be your kenjutsu examiner again, so get one sword this time." Shark unsheathed his blade as Naruto materialized Susanoo.

Both of the fell into their stances, positioned and ready to begin. Shark took the time to review his stance and posture.

_"Kid's stance has about one or two holes from what I see, and his posture seems to be perfect."_ Tiger thought.  
"Person to draw first blood wins, anything goes. Hajime!" Turtle said, dropping his hand and jumping back.

Once again, both swordsmen stayed in their stance, baiting the other to strike first. This time, both kenjutsu users dashed towards eachother, and clashed. Shark seemed to be overpowering Naruto, but by a small margin. Using this piece of information, Naruto twisted his body and kicked Shark away, allowing Naruto to advance. Naruto began with a quick slash.

CLANG  
CLANG

Naruto's zanpakuto was blocked, and once again, their blades are in a heated clash. Their blades separated as Shark pulled back and did a downward slash at Naruto. Again, Naruto intercepted the attack with an upward slash, and their swords met once more. Sparks flew from the blades as they were grinding against each other. After a few moments, Shark jumped back to assess his kenjutsu.

_"His movements flow together, and none of them are wasted motions. His strikes are pretty good, but a little weak. His footwork is just amazing. I give this kid a pass, but let's see what else he can do..."_ the ANBU thought, happy that he finally met a worthy adversary for a kenjutsu duel.

Shark shook his thoughts away and rushed towards Naruto, who stood his guard, ready to counter.

**-With Everyone else-**

"Sugoi! It's such a beautiful dance!" Yugao squealed with stars in her eyes.  
"Oh yeah, seems like Naruto could beat the both of us any day." Hayate drawled out.  
"Probably, and it appears that the Hokage has come to watch as well." Cat said, then the ANBU Commander turned to the blonde Hokage.  
"Hello Hokage-sama. Currently, we are testing an ANBU recruit in his last aspect, Kenjutsu." The commander explained to the Hokage, who nodded in return.  
"Who is this recruit? How well has he done?" The Hokage asked, wanting to know more about the new addition to the ANBU Corps.

"He is Naruto, no last name. He looks quite like you as well. Anyways, he was able to pass rather quickly for the strategy test, in the form of a game of Shogi. For genjutsu, he seemed to create an illusion over all of us. None of us were able to dispel it, and by the looks of it, only Naruto can control them." The commander paused to watch the deadly dance nearby. He then continued. "He displayed an amazing showcase of his ninjutsu capabilities, using few jutsu to do wonders. He was able to outmatch Wolf, one of our recent members but one of the top taijutsu users. Currently, Shark is testing him in Kenjutsu."

"He seems to be a great ninja." Minato said as he went deep into thought. It seemed apparent enough that Naruto would become an ANBU member at this point.

**-Kenjutsu Test-**

Over with Shark and Naruto, both were away from each other. In a span of 15 minutes, their clothes and armour had a few rips and cuts, but neither had been able to draw first blood.

Again, Naruto flashed to Shark's side to flank him, but his plan failed as Shark instinctively blocked the strike. Naruto then began his offensive. He made many fast stabs and quick slashes, trying to overpower shark. Then he did something that caught Shark off by surprise. Naruto did a handstand and did a spinning kick, hitting Shark at the side of the face and making him go off balance. Naruto took full advantage of this and quickly slashed at his arm, making a shallow cut.

"Ugh, good job kid, you pass. But seriously, a handstand?!" Shark congratulated him and immediately questioned the blonde's tactics.  
"Hey, it worked." Naruto simply replied, knowing that Shark couldn't argue against him. The two then walked back to the ANBU commander.

"Thank you Shark, you may leave if you wish." The Commander thanked the ANBU for administering one of the tests.  
"Well Naruto, follow me to my office." Then the two left while the crowd dispersed.

**-ANBU Commander's Office-**

"Well Naruto, I would like to congratulate you on passing each of the tests with flying colours." The Commander congratulated him and handed him two sets of ANBU equipment.  
"These are your ANBU equipment. Now we must choose your codename as an ANBU." He said.  
"Well sir, I do not know what codename to choose." Naruto said honestly not knowing what codename would suite him well.  
"Well then Naruto, how about codename..." The man paused for dramatic effect. "**Ryu** or **Dragon**" he finished.  
"Dragon, powerful, but forgotten in time. I accept the codename Dragon sir." Naruto stood up and bowed.  
"Very well then Ryu, you will return here tomorrow to be briefed of your duties and to receive your mask." Naruto nodded at the Commander, knowing that he probably won't be able to use his Hollow mask as he dubbed it. Naruto left the office after sealing his ANBU garbs and left for the hospital.

**-A Few Hours later, Park-**

"Yo!" Naruto said as he appeared before his friends in a shimmer.  
"So?" Yugao asked.  
"I passed. What, did you really think I'd fail?" Naruto said, feigning shock.  
"I did." Hayate replied, knowing that it would annoy Naruto, and it did.  
"Well, I already got my codename." At this the two kenjutsu users leaned in when Naruto paused for dramatic effect. Naruto then whispered "I am Ryu".

"Nice name 'Ruto." Hayate said, stifling a yawn. Then his stomach rumbled. "Hehe, sorry, didn't eat anything since this morning." Hayate nervously shifted.  
Then two more rumbles were heard, and Naruto and Yugao blushed in embarrassment.  
"Yeah, us as well. Let's get something to eat." Naruto said. "And not dango this time." Yugao faked sadness as the three went to get something to eat.

**-Later-**

"Ahh, that was good." Naruto said while stretching his arms. The three of them had chosen to eat at a sushi bar.  
"We should come here more often." Yugao said while nomming on the last piece of sushi.  
"You're not the ones paying!" Hayate said as he pretended to cry in a corner. The three had eaten a lot at the restaurant, and it cost Hayate quite a fortune.  
"Well, I have the day off today, so I think I'll train for a while." Naruto says, the two nodded and left with Naruto to watch.

**-Same time, Namikaze Compound-**

"Hey Minato! How's it going?" A pervert with a mane of white hair shouted as he appeared, startling everyone.  
"Ero-jisan, where's nii-san?" Natsuki asked the pervert. Kasumi joined in and asked "Haven't you seen him anywhere?".  
"Your nii-san? Sorry kids, I can't say that I have. Now why don't you two go play, I have to talk to your tou-san and your kaa-san." The twins pouted but did as they were told. When they were away, Jiraiya began speaking again.

"Anyways, the Toad Elder had another prophecy." Jiraiya started. He continued after seeing the blonde and red head nod.  
"It's adding onto the last one. He said 'The children of prophecy, guided by their family and friends, shall become the saviour or the destroyer of the world. Fill love in them, and they shall love and care. Fill hatred and contempt, and they shall destroy.' That's it. " The Toad Sage finished.  
"Once again it's vague. Who are the children of prophecy?" Minato asked on behalf of Kushina and himself.  
"Does it look like I know? I'm just passing a message." Jiraiya replied. "If you want my opinion, love your whole family. Well I best be off do do some glorious research! I have a deadline for the signature edition for my two biggest fans!" Jiraiya said with a perverted grin, and vanished for the hot springs.

* * *

Translations/Explanation:

**Katon: Goka Messhitsu**: Great Fire Destruction

**Futon: Kaze no Yaiba**: Blade of Wind

**Suiton: Suiryudan**: Water Dragon Bullet

**Doton: Doryudan**: Earth Dragon Bullet

**Hado #31: Shakkaho**: Red Fire Cannon

**Ninja Art: 5 Elements Dragon Fury**- One of my own jutsu. Five dragons are created, one for each element, and surround the enemy. Then the all attack. Whether they attack all at once or one at a time depends on the user.

* * *

END CHAPTER!

YAY! Finally got this done. So, what did you think? Review, Fav, Follow?


	8. Ch 8 ANBU Year One

A/N: It appears I should probably start doing disclaimers... So yeah, I don't own Naruto or Bleach, those go to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo respectively. Anyways, sorry it took longer than the other chapters. I wanted to dedicate this chapter to Naruto's ANBU career, but I felt like it would've been too long. So this is just one year, and some scenes of it. I should really start planning things more thoroughly.

ALSO! The pairing will end up as a harem(Four girls only), but don't expect any lemons. I'd prefer to be a better writer before doing any of that.

**Red (?)**: I was testing how the dialogue would look when using the Shift+Space thing, it seemed a cluttered and sort of hart to read so I'm gonna avoid doing that

**Dragonskyt**: Let's face it, life is pretty screwed up. I'm still debating on whether or not he will be getting Amaterasu as a third zanpakuto. Chances are he will but I won't want him to become too powerful too quickly, though I may have messed up there already.

**KING OF ZA WORLD**: Naruto will be using that sword style if/when he gets Amaterasu.

**ByEvelyn**: I really don't want to use the word hate, because there isn't any hate to begin with. Yes Minato/Kushina cried happiness when Naruto was born, and it was really not one-sided. Minato and Kushina gave Naruto too much room and freedom, while never truly reaching out to him and Naruto didn't try to reach out to his parents when he was younger.

**Batros94**: Going into more detail, as I said before, it wasn't one-sided. Naruto and Minato/Kushina sort of ignored each other in earlier years/chapters. Again, I don't want to use 'hate'. It's just being forgotten. Yes the three haven't interacted with each other, leading to Naruto being forgotten, but I guess the twins saw this as hatred and followed their parents, it's what children do. Adding on to that, the Kyuubi influences negative emotions, and ultimately their feelings towards their brother. Also, since I skipped so many years of Naruto's childhood, I could quite possibly just add a flashback or something, then set an event that caused tensions/ reinforce it in the family. Too be honest, I feel very ill prepared for the later chapters...

About the Dragon/Ryu thing, I was offering a translation, just in case people don't know that Ryu is Dragon in Japanese, possible language barriers. Yes when he was a genin, he tried not to bother Minato and Kushina while they were training the twins, because Naruto felt that the twins should be able to defend themselves in the future, and in a way, looking out for them. Honestly, Minato and Kushina could possibly had Naruto in secret, seeing as how the Third Shinobi War would have ended recently, and they would have preferred if Naruto wasn't in possible danger from Iwa wanting revenge. It's a possibility, one I haven't explored too deeply yet, though I still think that the villagers are quite stupid for the most part.**  
**

**Patriot112**: I don't think that prophecies happen too often, and Jiraiya was probably across the Elemental Nations when he heard, so add travel time and whatnot.

**HouseMD93**: When you say the fights aren't choreographed, did you mean that they weren't detailed enough? To be honest, I suck at fights the most, and I don't really know anything about actual fighting styles. So if you could, could you pm me or something to add suggestions?

**Ultima-owner**: Add using Tsukiyomi's illusions to that, and Ibiki would have a blast.

**malymac**: That was really the only way I could see Hollow Naruto forming that would actually fit. As for the great timing part, can't comment on that.

**rivereagles999**: Thanks for the support/suggestion. I'll try to be more detailed about events that happen in this chapter and in the later ones.

**bankai777**: Extremely lucky, seeing as how Minato could whip a Hiraishin kunai and finish the fight in seconds.

**DuelWarrior**: Hopefully I wanted this prophecy to let Minato and Kushina realize their incomplete family, or at least doubt it. The twins just want to know so they can insult him, or order him around.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 8 ANBU Year One  
**

* * *

**-ANBU HQ-**

Naruto was currently walking to the ANBU HQ, wearing his ANBU attire. News spread fast through the ANBU ranks as his skill was extraordinary. He then walked to the commander's office and stood in attention.

"Good morning Ryu. I trust you are well rested?" The commander asked, and Naruto nodded.

"Good, there is plenty we must do. Firstly, here is your mask. It has repairing seals and a seal that will allow it to stick to your face." The commander handed Naruto a mask with a dragon-like design on it.

"Next, we will be getting you the ANBU tattoo, to show that you are one in our ranks. Once you become ANBU, you are always ANBU throughout." The commander continued, and another ANBU with a raccoon design walked in and gave Naruto the signature tattoo on his shoulder.

Soon after, Naruto reappeared in the commander's office wearing his mask with the ANBU tattoo.

"Welcome back Ryu. Now I assume you are here for your duties. Like every other shinobi, you take missions. Mostly high-level and high risk missions that require a specific skill set. Here in ANBU, there are no rankings, only skill, and experience. That's the gist of it." The commander said, then a messenger appeared.

"Sir. Dragon, Tiger, Cat, and Wolf are requested by the Hokage." After the message was passed, the messenger left.

"You heard him. Gather Tiger, Cat and Wolf and head to the Hokage's Office." The commander said and dismissed Naruto.

Naruto quickly found the three at the lounge, just talking. "Tiger, Cat, Wolf. The Hokage wants us." Naruto said and the other three nodded. Then they left in a shunshin.

**-Hokage's Office-**

The four ANBU reappeared in a unified swirl of leaves, and saw the Hokage waiting for them.

"Hello Cat, Tiger, Wolf, Dragon. I have a mission that requires your skills." The Hokage said as he unraveled a scroll.

"There have been rumors that Orochimaru had created a base in Oto no Kuni. That was all Jiraiya-sama was able to find, so I want you four to infiltrate the Land of Sound, and find as much information possible on this. Gather anything that may be of use, and destroy the base if you feel it's necessary. Cat will be leader for this mission." The Hokage finished.

"Alright then you three, we leave for the Land of Sound in an hour. We will depart at the North Gate. Dismissed." Cat ordered his team and received a unified 'Hai' in response. Then the four vanished to prepare, leaving the Hokage to his paperwork.

The Yondaime Hokage looked at his paper work with a heated glare and said "I'm sick of this crap..." as he returned to fighting off the multiplying paperwork.

**-One Hour Later, North Gate-**

"Alright, it should take us about a day and a half to reach our destination. Tiger will take point." Cat ordered the team once again.

"Hai!" The three ANBU replied, and then the small group departed.

The trip to the border of Oto no Kuni was without incident.

"All right everyone, suppress your chakra and transform into a civilian. Hide anything that shows relations to Konoha." Cat ordered. Cat transformed into a man with short brown hair and grey eyes who looked around his mid twenties. Tiger transformed into a young woman around twenty years old with long black hair and black eyes. Ryu/Naruto changed into an adolescent with dark blue hair and purple-blue eyes. Wolf changed into a man around his mid-thirties with shaggy black hair and black eyes. All of them wearing civilian clothing.

The four then walked towards the border of Oto no Kuni, and were silently shocked when there were no ninja stationed anywhere. The four then wandered into the Land of Sound, trying to find a settlement but constantly on their guard. Hours later, a building came into view from a distance. The four nodded to each other and went in that direction.

When they reached the building, they were surprised once again. It was a simply, rectangular building, like a research facility of sorts.

"Alright, Ryu, get four invisibility tags for us, I'm going to send some kage bunshin in to scout for traps. When it get's dispelled, I will tell you the layout of the building." Cat ordered as he made two clones investigate while Ryu drew some invisibility tags and handed one to each of them. Cat stood still, focusing on his regained memories.

"There's a three way split when you enter." Cat whispered. "I'll take right, Tiger will take left, and Wolf and Ryu will take the center corridor. Be careful of potential traps." Cat ordered once more.

"Hai." The three ANBU said. Each of them dispelled their transformation and quickly slapped an invisibility tag on their chest. Then the group proceeded into the facility.

**-With Wolf and Ryu-**

The pair quickly rushed forward, clearing each room in utter silence. Researchers were quietly killed, while the pair scanned each rooms for useful information. Then Naruto found something in his third room.

"What the hell?" Naruto muttered. "Found something." He said into the radio. He quickly skimmed through all of the papers. "Sacrifices, immortality jutsu, Cursed Seal of the Heaven and Earth? What in the name of Kami..." He said to himself, and to the others on the radio.

"Ryu, whatever it is you've found, get it and place a genjutsu over the room." Cat ordered through the radio with some static. Silently sealing the notes, Naruto materialized Tsukiyomi and quietly muttered her release command. "Envelope the world in your presence. **Tsukiyomi**." Quickly placing an illusion over the room, Naruto sensed for anyone coming and left the room, quietly closing the door.

"Cat, Tiger, Wolf. There seem to be a lot of people below us..." Ryu told his allies.

"How many are you talking about?" Tiger asked through the radio.

"Hmm... Seems like around twenty to thirty people with chunin to low jonin chakra." Ryu answered back.

"Alright then, we have to hurry. We don't want to get caught, this is Orochimaru we're talking about." Cat said.

**-With Cat-**

Cat quickly sped through the hallways, clearing each room that he passed. Then the ANBU leader came across something. A computer screen with notes on it and a stack of papers beside it.

"Kidnappings... Living experiments... Nothing unexpected though..." Cat read the titles on the first page out loud. Shaking out of his thoughts he took out a sealing scroll and sealed the papers, hoping that there was something there beyond the profiles of victims

**-With Tiger-**

In the left corridor, It only had one room, which was at the end of it, and a flight of stairs beside it. Silently moving through the halls, Tiger reached for the door of the lone room and opened it. It was an empty office with a small stack of papers and a chair turned to the window. Tiger being unsure, created a Kage Bunshin to check it out. It quickly dispelled, but before Tiger was able to enter the room, a short barrage of poisoned kunai launched at her from the side. Tiger was able to block and dodge most of them, but a few hit her, and she started to feel dizzy and fell to the ground feeling sick.

**-With Ryu-**

In the corridor, Naruto sensed enemy movements.

"Tiger, wherever you are, get out of there! Over twenty enemies are going towards you. Their going for the stairs." Ryu warned his comrade.

"Ugh, think... poisoned... I'll... try..." Tiger stammered out in between small coughing fits.

"Cat, I'm going to go help Tiger. I refuse to let a comrade sit and die if I can help it." Ryu spoke over the radio.

"*Sigh* Very well then. Wolf, continue clearing the rooms. Ryu, get Tiger out of there before the enemy gets to her." Cat reluctantly let Ryu go and save their teammate. Wolf gave a mental nod and continued, while Ryu flashed back and towards Tiger.

With a few flashes, Naruto arrived to Tiger's position.

"Look, I'm gonna get you outta here before the enemy gets here." Ryu quietly said as he picked up Tiger, who only nodded. Ryu then flashed towards the exit of the building, just as the group of enemies arrived. Naruto then flashed to the rooftop of the building and laid Tiger down.

"Thanks Ryu..." Tiger quietly said as she coughed once more.

"No worries, we're comrades right?" Ryu asked lightheartedly. Then Cat's voice came through the radio.

"Ryu, where are you and Tiger, and what's Tiger's status?" Their leader asked.

"Rooftop, Tiger's been poisoned. Not sure what, but she's having coughing fits and low amounts of internal bleeding." Ryu answered his leader.

"Good, get Tiger away from the facility, Wolf and I will set exploding tags to destroy the place." Cat ordered once more.

"That may not be necessary, I know of a technique that can destroy the entire vicinity." Ryu suggested. "Should blow up the base and clear a nice amount of the surrounding area." There was no immediate response, but Ryu knew that his leader was thinking.

"I will set charges just in case though. We don't want anything salvageable from this place, though we're lucky Orochimaru himself wasn't here." Cat said. He then continued. "Wolf, get some of the custom exploding tags and set them in key structural areas."

"Hai, Taicho." Was Wolf's response as the ANBU began setting exploding tags in the building.

Soon after, the ANBU team evacuated the building, allowing Naruto to perform the destructive technique. Naruto then donned his Hollow mask, which replaced his ANBU one. With a big leap, Naruto jumped in the air and floated. He stretched his hands with the palms facing the building and began a shortened incantation.

**-With the ANBU Team-**

"What the hell's he doing?" Wolf said. The team could hear a slightly demonic voice doing a chant of sorts. The voice seemed like Naruto's and a deeper voice of Naruto overlapping.

"I don't know, but I feel like we should back up farther..." Cat replied. He then picked up Tiger and then began jumping through the trees, going farther from the research base.

**-With Ryu-**

"_**Ye**_**_ lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens_**."

Using near full power of the Hado technique and his Hollow mask, Ryu shouted.

"**HADO #73: SOREN SOKATSUI!**"

A giant blue fire was shot from Ryu's palms and raced to the building. The flames of the torrent fickle as it shot to the ground. Upon contact, the blue beam like technique created a massive explosion. Screams of the thirty or so nin echoed through the underground. Chances are, the explosion could be seen from a long distance. When the dust settled, Ryu flashed and returned to his team, whom were shocked. No, saying that they were shocked as a complete understatement.

"DEAR KAMI!" Wolf shouted in shock, unable to hide it. The entire area was cleared, nothing of the building remained, not even a shard of glass.

"Amazing!" Tiger said in between some coughs.

"Well, it looks like we don't need those exploding tags." Cat mused, but secretly forced them to explode just for extra measure. Then Ryu appeared before the group.

"Find anything?" Cat asked, Ryu nodded and pulled out a sealing scroll.

"Information on Cursed seals, sacrifices, and even immortality jutsu tests." Ryu let his Hollow Mask disappear and gave a quick report. Cat nodded and took the scroll from Ryu.

"Very well, let's go home, double time! Tiger needs medical attention."

**-Next Day, Hokage's Office**-

"Welcome home ANBU, I trust your mission was successful?" The Hokage asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The three ANBU said, they dropped off Tiger at the Hospital just before.

"Very well then. Please give me your reports." The Hokage asked, and then the ANBU began retelling the events that had happen, from Cat's perspective, then Wolf's and lastly Ryu's perspective.

"Thank you ANBU, you have done a great job. Send the information to the Intelligence Division. You'll receive your mission pay in the ANBU's mission hall. Dismissed, but Ryu will stay for now." The Hokage said, and received a unified "Hai" in return. Then Cat and Wolf left to get their pay.

"Please take off your mask Ryu." The Hokage requested, and Naruto grudgingly took off his Mask.

"Why?" The Hokage asked in slight sadness, but mostly anger.

"You'll have to be more specific Hokage-sama." Naruto simply replied.

"Why'd you leave? Was I not a good father and Kushina not a good mother? What about Kasumi and Natsuki?!" The Hokage's fury rising, but got no reply. "Answer me!" The blonde man shouted at the teen.

"Perhaps you should reevaluate your family's relationship with myself in your past years." Naruto cryptically said and left in one of his custom shunshins, a miniature storm swirling around him.

"Wh- what?" The man could only stammer out as he went into deep thought. _"I'm pretty sure I was a great father..."_

* * *

***One Year Later (10 Years after K.I)***

* * *

Once again, Naruto and his friends are seen eating at the Dango Shop. Things were going quite well for Naruto, but somethings annoyed him to no end. One was that the owner of this Dango Shop still refused to tell Naruto his name, or anyone for the matter.**  
**

"So Naruto, how was your last mission?" Yugao said slightly worriedly.

"Yeah man, you've been taking training constantly and taking so many missions lately, and don't even tell me that I'm not strong enough crap. I'll even show you your Bingo book profile." Hayate added. He was also a little worried for his friend, whom had taken many solo missions and some S-Ranked missions in his first year in the ANBU.

**Classification**: HIGH A-RANK

**Name**: NARUTO

**Ninja Rank**: Jonin/ANBU

**Aliases**: THE LIVING SHINIGAMI, FLASH MASTER, KONOHA'S STORM BLADER

**Affiliation**: KONOHA

**Description**: Male. Short blonde hair with red streaks. Blue-amethyst eyes. About 5'10 in height. Wears a mask with dragon design or with two red lines down eye holes(See picture two). Usually wears Konoha's ANBU equipment.**  
**

**Abilities**:  
NINJUTSU- Is said to have created many of his own techniques, all of them dangerous. Inadvisable to let him use any of his techniques. 9/10  
GENJUTSU- Known to be able to cast unbreakable illusions. 8.5/10  
TAIJUTSU- Created his own style 'Hakuda'. Inadvisable to combat him in Taijutsu. 8.5/10  
OTHER FIELDS- Kenjutsu master, should not combat in Kenjutsu in any circumstance. Approaching Seal Master level. Very wise strategist.

**Warnings**: Retreat on sight.

**Other**: His weapons supposedly has special abilities. None are known. When he is seen with his secondary mask (Picture on the right), the sclera of his eyes turn black, and the irises turns yellow. Reasons for this is unknown. Feelings of dread and despair can be felt when using his secondary mask.

**Bounty(s)**: IWA- 40,000,000 RYO. KUMO- 20,000,000 RYO.

Then near the bottom of the page were two pictures. One of them was Naruto wearing his ANBU mask. The second was of him with his Hollow mask.

"I mean seriously, you're listed as _HIGH A-RANKED NIN_. I think that says something about your strength. Seriously, take a break. I'm pretty sure you've saved up a few days." Hayate exclaimed as he chewed on a dumpling.

"It is unwise to do so many missions so quickly without some rest." Itachi advised his surrogate brother. "I think I should go pick up Sasuke and Sayuri from the academy now."

"Wait, I'll go as well." Naruto said as he stood up to leave with his long time friend.

"Sure why not?" Yugao wondered. Then after finishing and paying the bill, the four left.

**-Academy-**

The group walked towards the Academy entrance, and saw Sasuke walking out with Sayuri, the latter sported two bruises. Then the group of ninja rushed over.

"Sayuri-chan, what happened?" Itachi asked his sister.

"Nii-san, it was the Namikaze twins this time, not taijutsu practice. They were picking on her again." Sasuke answered for his sister. Naruto's eye twitched very dangerously. The mention of the Namikaze family annoyed him, but hearing that the twins were picking on his surrogate family was crossing the line.

"What did they do?" Naruto asked the younger Uchiha, doing his very best not to get angry or seemed annoyed, but he failed miserably.

"Naruto-nii, don't do anything too bad, they were just pushing her around and tripping her. Nothing incredibly bad." Sasuke said as he tried to calm Naruto down, his tactics didn't work well. Judging by the increasing twitch in Naruto's eye, it seemed to fan the flames of his anger.

_"Nicest man you'll ever meet, but has unmatched rage..."_Sasuke thought.

"Anyways, let's get those checked out." Naruto said in the kindest voice he could muster, hoping not to deal with the Namikazes. Sayuri visibly brightened up and smiled at the blonde teen as the group went to the hospital to get the Uchiha girl's bruises healed.

**-Later-**

"Well, I'll see you later Tachi-nii."

Naruto, Yugao and Hayate waved goodbye to the Uchiha. They just returned from getting Sayuri's bruises checked up.

"Well, now what?" Hayate just had to ask that dreaded question to defeat boredom.

"Park?" Yugao asked. Both boys nodded and walked towards the park.

As the three were walking towards the park, they saw something that caught his eye. It was the bookstore, more specifically, a new book. Unfortunately for the author, a newly release novel called "Icha Icha: Gold Edition".

"I swear if I meet the author of that smut, I will castrate him!" Yugao declared in fury. Hayate was able to hide a giggle from Yugao, though Naruto caught it after being in the ANBU for a year. Secretly, Hayate enjoyed reading those books after being hooked by Kakashi.

"There will be nothing left for you when I'm through with him." Naruto had an evil grin and gave out a maniacal chuckle as he thought of ways to torture Jiraiya, mainly for his own enjoyment. "Though, I wonder if I could write my own novel. I might need the extra cash." Naruto mused.

"If you're half as good as writing as you are fighting, it would be a best seller." Hayate said, knowing that there was some truth to it.

"Anyways, lets keep going." Yugao said.

**-Park-**

Once again, the three were sitting on a bench, just enjoying some ice cream, though Naruto was providing beautiful music for everyone. The happy music flowed through the air and whispered into the ears of all. Again, a crowd was drawn, though Naruto was too absorbed in his music to even realize. He poured his feelings into the violin and played, unaware of the world around him. With his eyes closed, he played music from his heart and let everyone hear it, no longer caring, and for twenty minutes, he continued. The crowd sat and watched with awe, feeling content, and their worries were lifted for this moment.

Yet again when he finished, he saw the crowd and bowed, who gave applause in return.

"Just to let you know Naruto, I'm sure you could just play at some bar for some extra cash." Hayate joked, but Naruto knew he was serious about the suggestion.

"A book, a concert, what's next?" Naruto just had to ask, but he was thinking of ideas for a novel.

"You tell me Naruto-kun, maybe you'll gamble." Yugao simply stated. "Knowing your luck, you'll win something."

"His luck?! He was probably blessed by Lady Luck! Tsunade-sama might need some of that luck however..." Hayate exclaimed. Among them, they knew that Naruto had the greatest luck ever, the complete opposite of Tsunade. Then an idea popped into Naruto's head.

"I just got a great idea for a book." Naruto suddenly said, and then he began to recite lines from the top of his head.

"The goddess descends from the sky,  
Wings of light and dark spread afar  
She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."

Naruto spoke the words, and they flowed like a poem.

"Not bad Naruto-kun." Yugao said.

"Seems more of a poem then a novel, but still it was good." Hayate added.

"I think I'll just use one of my vacation days to write tomorrow." Naruto thought out loud.

"That's the spirit! Let's go get some sake!" Hayate shouted in joy and dragged his two best friends to a bar.

_"Better not get drunk this time..."_ Naruto cursed some of the other jonins for introducing sake to Hayate. More often than not, Naruto would end up paying to cover the bill.

**-Few minutes later, Random Bar-**

Hayate had dragged Yugao and Naruto to some place called "The Drunken Leaf". It seemed to be a small shinobi only bar.

"Yo 'Kashi!" Hayate exclaimed as he saw Kakashi sitting at a table with some other jonins. Kakashi only looked up from his new book and eye smiled at the three newcomers. The three then sat down at the table.

"And who are you my youthful friends?" A jonin wearing green spandex, incredibly think eyebrows and a shiny bowl cut asked.

"Naruto, coughs over there is Gekko Hayate and she's Uzuki Yugao. Though it is quite, _unyouthful_" Naruto spat out the word. "Not to give your own name before asking." Naruto finished. Most of the older jonin were bug-eyed, no one was able to tolerate Gai's youthfulness. Kakashi only ignored it.

"You have my most youthful apologies, I am MIGHT GAI! THE GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA!" Gai declared with youthfulness, many people covered their ears.

"I'm Yuhi Kurenai. I here that you three are some of the newer jonins. They say your some of the best." A woman with long black hair, and red eyes said.

"Don't look at us, if you want the best, look at Naruto-kun over there." Yugao had her hands up and pointed to Naruto, who blushed slightly at the embarrassment.

"I'm not that good." Was all Naruto said as he went to hold his left shoulder, trying to cover his ANBU tattoo.

"You beat Shikaku-sama in a shogi match..." Hayate grumbled, but everyone heard him.

"THAT WAS YOU?!" Kurenai said in disbelief. A jonin that seemed around 15 beat Shikaku in a shogi match. "You can't be older than 15! Not even Sandaime-sama could win!" She added.

"Well I'm 14, and that makes me the first." Naruto replied.

"And to think the kids in ANBU." Kakashi mused, though he accidentally spoke out loud.

"YOUR IN ANBU?!" Asuma shouted, completely shocked.

"Damn it Asuma, keep it down." Naruto chided the older man. Luckily it seemed that no one heard, or they did and didn't care.

"Gaki, you can't be serious?" Anko added.

"I have the tattoo on me, of course I'm serious. Why do you think I was trying to cover it up?" Naruto said. The blonde ANBU then lifted his left sleeve, and revealed the signature ANBU symbol.

"Yep, that's the right one." Kakashi mused, confirming the legitimacy. The masked pervert then lifted one of his sleeves and revealed his own ANBU symbol for the others to compare.

"Of course it is, do you think I just went to a tattoo shop and got this done? No!" Naruto said with hints of sarcasm, the other jonins laughed at his statement. "So, how's things going for you guys?" The blonde asked the fellow jonins as he pulled out a notepad to write ideas for his novel.

"Can't say too much, though Minato-sensei wants me to be a jonin sensei soon." Kakashi said, not even taking his eyes of of the art in his hands.

"You? A jonin sensei? That I wanna see, but chances are you'll push them aside for the newest release of that book." Asuma added as he pointed at the orange smut.

"Yes, it is most unyouthful to read such an unyouthful book in front of youthful genin!" Gai declared in his usual loud voice.

"How about you guys? You planning on taking a genin team for that generation?" Yugao asked.

"Hell no! I don't have time to be babysittin' some snot-nosed brats!" Anko rejoined the conversation.

"Sort of on the fence for that one." Asuma said.

"I'm with Asuma on that one. Not sure if I'll be ready to take my own genin team." Kurenai added. Naruto nodded.

"So blondaime-gaki, whatcha writing?" Anko asked the blonde ANBU member after peering over his shoulder to see his notes.

"Starting to write a book." Naruto proudly said.

"Well if you need some _inspiration_, you can come to me." Anko winked at Naruto, who's face lit up at the possible insinuations. Yugao huffed at the other purple haired woman, while Hayate tried to avoid whispering some rather perverted jokes into Naruto's ear, in fear of following Jiraiya's footsteps and get beaten up.

"Anko, quit teasing the poor boy." Asuma said as he took a long drag of his cigar.

"I'm not Ero-Raiya..." Naruto simply said as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

Anko merely shrugged and said "Shame... but nice job on the book so far.".

**-At the same time, Namikaze Compound-**

Natsuki and Kasumi were taking another nap together. Then it had happened, the two of them went from dozing off on the couch to some kind of sewer with a foot of water. After mindlessly wandering for a few minutes, they found an area with giant pipes running up and down, as if caging something, and a tag that said "Seal" on it. Then they froze, behind those bars was a giant orange fox with nine tails waving around the back.

"**It seems that my containers finally come and visit me...**" The Kyuubi said in her deep voice as a kitsune.

"Ky-Kyuubi?!" Both of the twins stuttered out in shock and horror.

"**No, I'm Kami. OF COURSE, I'M THE GREAT KYUUBI NO KITSUNE! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! YOU'VE BEEN USING MY CHAKRA SINCE YOU WERE 6 AND NOT ONCE HAVE YOU VISITED ME, AND WHEN YOU DO YOUR PISSED SCARED! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!**" The Kyuubi roared in anger, mostly because she was bored the entire time she was sealed in them, save for the few moments she had spent with Naruto.

"What's wrong with us? No, what's wrong with you?!" Kasumi shouted and anger. "You attacked the village and killed so many people 10 years ago!" Natsuki added, also very angry.

"**Dear Kami how are they your sisters Naruto...**" The Kyuubi wondered out loud.

_"Naruto?" _The twins thought.

Then Natsuki voiced her curiousity. "How do you know Naruto-teme?"

"**Naruto-teme? Aren't you his sisters?**" The Kyuubi asked in return.

"We were, then the teme left us." Kasumi answered.

"**Well I can see why then.**" The Kyuubi mused, while the twins were cursing the fox with amazing hatred. "**As for how I know him, I met him about 6 years ago. I remember when he stared me into the eye with determination I've never seen. Would you like to know what that so-called "teme" of yours said?**" The Kyuubi continued after a very slow nod from the twins. It seemed that they were still frightened by seeing the Kyuubi's kitsune form.

"**If I recall correctly, that day was when your body was getting used to my chakra. I told him what I did, which is adjust your chakra system. Then he said "If you do anything to hurt them... I _WILL_ kill you." with a fire in his eyes. Even though I'm supposedly a demon, I know he would have fought me, the shinigami, anyone else and go through hell and back just for you.**" The Kyuubi declared, somewhat in pride.  
"**To say I'm ashamed of you is an understatement. I've seen your life up until now, and how you've treated your own brother. Not only that, but after four years of training to use my chakra, you can only use a tail or two without losing control... I wish I had a better container, preferably one that would at least come and chat...**" The Kyuubi finished, and began drifting into her imagination and smiled.

The twins, who were still frightened, snapped out of their daze and started yelling at the demoness, though they didn't know of that tidbit of information.

"How dare you! We treated him just fine!" Kasumi shouted with fury.

"How do we know you're not lying anyways!" Natsuki added with rage.

"**What reason do I have to lie?**" The Kyuubi said, somewhat in joy that her containers were finally experiencing a bit of emotional pain and turmoil.

"Hmph... Whatever." Was the twins' response as they left the mindscape.

**-That Night, Apartment 247-  
**

As usual, Naruto is lying down on his bed, reflecting on his first year in the ANBU.**  
**

_"I can't believe it's been a year since I've join" _Naruto mused, glancing at his ANBU mask.

"**Tell me about it kid, at least I get some more time to let lose. But seriously, you should start practicing my full transformation.**" Yami said through the mental link.

"The council meetings sucked though. I'm surprised the civilian part could run a village. Some of them really have issues..." Susanoo added his two ryo, and Naruto mentally nodded. The blonde then thinks back to his first council session as an ANBU member.

* * *

**Flashback, Some time ago...**

Ryu had just returned from his last solo mission and had handed in his report to the Hokage. _"Finally..."_ The ANBU thought. His last mission was simply a missing-nin hunt, he was hunting for an A-Ranked missing-named Rokusho Aoi. Aoi was a missing-nin from Konoha who had stolen the Raijin and defected to Amegakure. The only issue was that there were several other missing-nins with him, eight or nine of them were jonin level, and outnumbering Ryu. Though Rokusho himself was a horrible kenjutsu user, and the fact that the Raijin broke made things even worse.

"**It was a nice fight for me to let loose a bit.**" Yami mentally spoke, happy that he, or a part of him was able to let loose.

As Ryu walked down the street, a messenger shunshin'd to him.**  
**

"Ryu-san, the council requests your presence." The messenger passed the message and Ryu nodded, both of them vanished to their separate destinations.

**-Council Room-**

Naruto appeared before the council in one of his new shunshins, a black shade appearing from nothingness and revealing himself. It later helped create the name "The Living Shinigami". Naruto glanced around the room for a brief moment. One side had the Ninja Council with the ANBU Commander, while the other had the Civilian Council. Naruto was able to recognize the Shinobi heads. Nara Shikaku, great shogi player and Nara head. Yamanaka Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka clan, and Akimichi Choza the head of the Akimichi clan. Then there was Hyuuga Hiashi, older twin to Hyuuga Hizashi and head of the Main Branch of the Hyuuga Clan. Beside the stoic Hyuuga head was Inuzuka Tsume, matriarch of the Inuzuka clan. Next was the head of the Aburame clan, Shibi. Lastly there was Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan, though Naruto knew that later on he would be seeing Itachi there. Of the shinobi heads, Naruto only knew Shikaku and Fugaku personally.

On the other side were the civilian clan heads, majority of them were merchants, such as the Harunos. After many years they had gained much more power than before, and they had become much greedier than ever. Finally in the center was the Hokage himself, Namikaze Minato.

"Do you know why you have been called, Ryu?" The Hokage asked the elite nin.

"I do not, so if you could enlighten me, it would be wonderful." Ryu answered back.

"You have been called to discuss something about your missions." The Hokage said, but before he was interrupted.

"Why do we have to sit here to talk about his missions?!" A larger than normal civilian shouted out, and soon people began murmuring amongst themselves.

"I was getting to that! You wanted so much power, yet you refuse to accept the responsibilities." The Hokage hushed the group and continued. "Ryu, please take off your mask for this." Naruto reluctantly agreed and pulled off his mask, letting it hang from the side of his belt.

"Naruto, it appears that you have been seen with a second mask." The ANBU Commander began, and then pulled out a sketch. "Rumor has it that your mask looks akin to the one a witness has drawn." It was true, on the page was a half-body sketch of Naruto with his hollow mask donned, and the commander continued. "Please explain why this may be."

"Commander, that is a secondary mask." Naruto answered. Most people bought it, though only Shikaku, Minato, and the ANBU Commander had doubts.

"May we see it?" The Commander received a nod from his subordinate. Naruto then held his hand out and materialized his mask into his grasp, most people passing it off as sealing. The blonde then handed it to the ANBU.

"Interesting choice of design... Where exactly did you get this?" The Yondaime asked the blonde ninja.

"On one of my earlier missions in the ANBU." Naruto replied without hesitation.

"Is that so? Perhaps you can wear it and see if it matches the description we were given, though I myself have no doubts that it would." Shikaku joined in. Naruto complied and took back his mask. With one hand he pressed it on his face, like anyone would when using an ANBU mask. It then stuck to Naruto's face, exactly like an ANBU mask would.

"Well?" Naruto asked with his layered voice.

"It seems to be a match. Black and yellow eyes, odd voice change, de-." The ANBU Commander was automatically checking the descriptions, not really paying attention, but then he was interrupted by a certain Nara.

"Hold up there. Black and yellow eyes? Voice change? Can you explain that Naruto? I highly doubt that a simple mask maker can incorporate those two features." Shikaku pointed out the oddities. By now, Naruto was beginning to sweat. "And besides, right now his eyes are still the same."

_"Damn it, leave it to Shikaku to catch that. How do I get out of this?" _Naruto mentally asked his 'roommates'.

_"Well you could always come out with the truth."_ Tsukiyomi suggested.

_"**And get sent for mental rehabilitation for saying that he has two spirits inhabiting his body and a darker half of him who happens to co-operate with him?**"_ Yami added what seemed to be the most likely scenario.

_"White's got a point."_ Susanoo joined in.

"Well? ANSWER US!" A fat civilian head screeched.

"As a shinobi, I am not obligated to answer you, _civilian._" Naruto calmly answered, trying to think of a way out of this mess.

"Well? No matter how you look at it, you'll be asked this later on. It's far too troublesome though..." Shikaku lazily drawled out.

_"Hey, that might work. Naruto, use your reputation to make jutsu to explain the mask. It is an exclusive to you, and it technically isn't wrong, just not completely right." _Tsukiyomi suggested through the mental link. Naruto mentally smiled at her and then began to speak.

"Perhaps I should elaborate. This mask is indeed a mask, except that it is technically a jutsu." Naruto began, and then the ANBU commander handed Naruto the Hollow mask. The blonde lazily tossed it away, letting it disappear, and began to explain.

"The mask is really a jutsu I created when I was thinking about joining the ANBU corps. Should my official mask break somehow, I can always use this as a replacement instead, but it also has an intimidating feel. Everyone knows what the Konoha ANBU looks like, so in a way it displays a message, that Konoha is still strong after the Third Shinobi War and the Kyuubi Attack." Naruto explained, seeing that just about everyone accepted his explanation. Then Naruto slowly brought his hand up, and called upon his Hollow mask.

**"**It will not be an issue to my teams health or that of my own, and it is not a danger to the village. So beyond that it is nothing to scream over.**"** Naruto finished in his hollow-like voice. Soon after he allowed his mask to vanish from sight. "Is that all Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, that will be all Naruto-san. You have the next three days off. Meeting adjourned." The Hokage finished, and Naruto left the room in the same way he came. Shortly after, everyone began to clear the room, mumbling incoherent things like "A waste of time".

* * *

**Flashback End -Next Day-**

* * *

Like Naruto had promised his friends, he had taken the day off. Waking up in his bedroom, Naruto did his morning rituals and left a Kage bunshin to work on the new novel. Last night he had decided to call it "Loveless", and so far he had finished the prologue. Leaving his clone to his duty, the real Naruto left and made another Kage Bunshin to go to the library and read on the guitar. He truly enjoyed playing music and felt like he had to expand his horizon. Then, Naruto left to meet the Uchihas, and walk Sasuke and Sayuri to the Shinobi Academy with Itachi. He saw the three walking on the road and decided to join them.

"Hello Tachi-nii, Sasuke-kun, Sayuri-chan." Naruto greeted the Uchiha siblings.

"Hello Naruto-kun. It seems that you did take our advice and rest for once." Itachi said in his monotone voice.

"Ohayo Naruto-nii!" Was the twins' greetings.

"Heya Sasuke, Sayuri. How's it going at the academy?" Naruto asked, curious as he and Itachi only attended for one year.

"Same as usual, boring. Iruka-sensei loves to hear himself talk though." Sayuri answered, while Sasuke nodded.

"Well, here we are. You two go in and have a good day!" Itachi said as the ninja pair waved goodbye to the Uchiha twins.

"Take care of Sayuri-chan, you got that Sasuke?" Naruto called out to Sasuke, who waved and nodded. Then the two went in their classroom.

"Ne Tachi-nii, why won't you join ANBU?" Naruto suddenly asked as Itachi stared at the academy doors.

"I want to be there for Sasuke and Sayuri when they become genin, so I can help them. Maybe when they become chunin will I join." Itachi answered his long time friend and surrogate brother. Naruto nodded and then the two went their separate ways. Then in a purple blur came Yugao dragging Hayate.

"Hey Naruto-kun, come watch the new Princess Gale movie with me please?" Yugao pouted and gave Naruto her cutest look. Naruto was going to say no, but then she used the Puppy Dog Eye jutsu.

"Alright alright, when does it start?" Naruto asked the purple haired kenjutsu user.

"Should be around 7:30 pm." Yugao answered, while Hayate regained consciousness and began coughing.

"Couldn't go any slower?" Hayate wheezed out.

"Nope!" Yugao happily chirped.

"Well I'll buy tickets for us at the door then." Naruto said as he helped Hayate up and then began walking to the cinema. Soon after they went to the park, each holding a ticket to see the new Princess Gale movie. On the way however, Naruto suddenly regained the memories of a dozen clones practicing the guitar and stumbled.

"Err, sorry bout this, but I gotta go get something from my apartment." Naruto stood up and left for his apartment. "Meet'cha at the park!" He called out as he got farther and farther.

**-Apartment 247-**

Quickly opening the door, Naruto grabbed his novel in-progress and sealed it. Then he found a guitar case lying on the cough. He quickly opened it to see if his new guitar was there.

_"Simple, but it's quite nice. They have good taste." _Naruto smiled to himself and mentally gave himself a pat on the back. His clones did have good taste, so he presumed that he himself picked it out, though he kind of did. Naruto then closed the case and sealed it and left for the door, then activated his seals around the room and left.

**-Park-**

Naruto found his friends waiting for him at a random park bench with a box of what seemed to be rice balls.

"So 'Ruto, what did you get?" Hayate asked his friend.

"A little something special." Naruto replied back. At this Yugao had stars in her eyes.

"Is it a new violin?" The girl squealed.

"Close." Naruto then unsealed his guitar. "A new guitar!" It was a simple acoustic guitar, but it seemed nice. Naruto then sat down and quickly tuned it, and then played the only song his clones bothered to learn. He quickly drew a crowd yet again, whom were itching to hear more.

"Um yeah, sorry guys. That's the only song I know for the guitar." Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head. The crowd was slightly disappointed but was glad to hear the music and clapped. Naruto then placed his guitar in its case and sealed it up again and rejoined his friends.

"So, what did you think?" Naruto asked for his friends' opinions on his performance after grabbing a rice ball.

"I stand by what I said yesterday. You should give live performances at a restaurant." Hayate commented.

"It sounded nice, but I like your violin playing more." Yugao added. Soon after, a woman wearing an expensive looking kimono walked towards Naruto.

"Hello there Naruto-san. I heard word of your music from some of my colleagues." The woman said.

Naruto stood up and spoke. "Thank you, though may I ask for your name milady?"

"A gentleman, I like that. Anyways, I am Inoue Reimi . I was wondering if you would like to come to my restaurant and perhaps perform for us." Reimi said.

"I'm simply a ninja who just happens to enjoy music. Though might I ask where exactly would I be performing?" Naruto replied back to the orange haired beauty.

"The Golden Leaf is where you will be performing." Reimi answered, and the three ninja went bug-eyed.

"That's a five star restaurant here!" Yugao stuttered out with shock.

"I-I-, I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm good enough for it. I don't really have anything nice to wear either." Naruto nervously replied.

"Nonsense, all of my staff members are talking about your performances here. Just drop a message when you can come in and perform." Reimi said, and Naruto had a slight blush.

"Perfect then, I can do that and watch that movie with you guys." Naruto said, happy that he wouldn't be missing out on spending time with his best friends.

"Oh, and do get something nice to wear." The restaurant owner said as she left.

"Well, that was interesting." Naruto suddenly said.

"Indeed, but you don't have anything formal do you?" Hayate told him, and he received a shake.

"Well, what are we waiting for!" Yugao exclaimed with a fist raised in the air, but quickly realized what she did after seeing the mirth in her friends' eyes and pulled her fist down and turned, hiding a blush.

"Maybe we can do that some other time." Yugao said in a meek voice. Then her two friends bursted out laughing, and she blushed even more.

**-7:15 PM, Cinema-**

After a few hours, Naruto, Yugao and Hayate regrouped and left for the cinema to watch the new Princess Gale movie. Turns out that Yugao was a big fan of them, and has signed copies of the other Princess Gale movies. Now the three of them were sitting in their seats with popcorn, waiting for the movie to begin. After what seemed light hours, the movie began. The title sequence was displayed on the large screen. "Princess Gale: Legacy of the Forgotten Heiress".

"Interesting choice of title, wonder what it's gonna be about." Hayate mused, then Yugao smacked him on the head.

"Baka, I wanna watch it, now shut up!" Yugao hissed while Hayate was tending to his bruised head.

**-After Movie-**

"Sugoi! Michi-kun was amazing!" Yugao squealed, her eyes containing hearts.

"Eh, it wasn't that bad." Naruto spoke out loud with Hayate nodding in agreement. However, both of them felt a strong slap to the back of their heads.

"Hey!" Hayate yelled at Yugao. "What was that for?" He asked.

"For saying it was okay." Yugao said, seeming a little angry.

"Now now Yu-chan, we didn't say it, we implied it." Naruto chided the purple haired girl and then saw a clock. "Well, I better go now. ANBU duties tomorrow." The blonde suddenly said.

"Eh, at least you took a break, better take more soon." Hayate said, with Yugao vigorously nodding from behind.

"Well, see you later." And then the blonde disappeared.

**-Next Day-**

"Welcome back Ryu, hope you enjoyed your first vacation day." The commander greeted Ryu in the Mission Hall.

"It's a nice change of pace, anyways. I was hoping to get another mission." Ryu said.

"A solo mission again?" The commander asked and received a nod. "Very well then. Lets see..." The man then began looking through the mission scrolls for one suitable for a solo mission.

Soon after, the ANBU commander found a scroll and looked up, just in time to see a messenger appear.

"Sir. The Hokage orders some available ANBU to rescue a chunin team, here's the mission scroll." The messenger handed the commander the mission scroll and shunshin'd. The Commander then unrolled the scroll and read it.

"Well, here's your mission." The ANBU Commander rolled it and tossed the scroll to Ryu. "A returning chunin team has been captured by a bandit group lead by two Iwa missing-nins, one jonin and the other chunin level. Currently, they are being held in a bandit camp on the border of Kusa. Rescue them and eliminate the threats."

Ryu nodded and slipped the mission scroll into a seal. "Hai!" Then Ryu was off.

Ryu appeared in his apartment and began looking through his equipment. He found that he was lacking some shuriken, but felt that with the amount of kunai, senbon and everything else in his equipment seals, he would be fine. He then slipped some explosive seals and seal making materials into his pouch. Confirming his equipment, Naruto flashed to the North gate. It was still very early, so Naruto decided to use shunpo the whole way, knowing that he can make it there in less than half a day.

**-6 Hours Later-**

After traveling for about six hours, Ryu saw the bandit camp on the border. He then continued to flash to the bandit camp and silently landed on a tree nearby. Naruto created some clones to scout the area.

_"There were two nin from the information. Hmm... four tents, and there seem to be 5... 11... 21 bandits. Seems like the chunin team was tied over by the tree in the center. "_ Ryu mentally counted the number of enemies. Quietly putting away his ANBU mask while hiding his signature, Ryu donned his Hollow mask. Then with utter silence, he created three clones, all of them did a silent flash to the captured team and rescued them. Then the three clones returned with three Konoha chunins.

"Hey man, you gotta help our teammate!" The apparent leader whispered.

"She's in that big tent, please just save her!" Another chunin whispered, praying for his teammate. Ryu nodded and slapped an invisibility seal on him. Once again with complete silence, Ryu shunpo'd back, this time in front of the large tent. Naruto sensed two people in there.

"NO!" A female's cry of help was heard from the tent. Ryu's blood began to boil, and he materialized Tsukiyomi into his grasp. As Ryu entered the tent, he saw a man with a slashed Iwa headband ripping off a girl's pants. She had long hair and wore the Konoha headband on her forehead. Ryu was utterly pissed, and kicked him away from the girl. Naruto quickly advanced and stabbed him through the chest, but instead of pulling the sword out, he ripped it downwards with great force. The man was nearly cut in half, and he quickly died a bloody death. Ryu then went to the girl's side.

"Shh. It's alright, I'm here to help from Konoha. Are you injured?" Ryu whispered. The girl shook her head.

"Good, now I'm going to make a clone to bring you back to your teammates. Is that alright?" Ryu asked in a quite but kind voice. The girl gave a slight smile and nodded. Ryu wordlessly created a clone to bring her to her teammates, and the clone left with a flash. Still wearing his Hollow mask, Ryu walked out of the tent, and was greeted by 21 bandits and an Iwa nin.

"Well lookie here. One lone Konoha scum." The Iwa nin sneered. "This will be easy, stay back unless I tell you." The rock nin commanded the bandits who backed away.

"Worthless trash..." Ryu said with his Hollow voice. Instantly, the ANBU member vanished and each bandit was slain, cut into ribbons. Blood-filled screams were heard from behind the rock nin, and he turned back to see his bandit force dead. Quickly turning back he saw Ryu in the same position he was before.

"WHAT DID YOU DO KONOHA SCUM!" The Iwa nin charged in with rage, just wanting revenge on Konoha.

"**Senka**..." Ryu whispered, and then in an instant, he reappeared behind the now dead Iwa nin. Sensing no one else but the chunin team, Ryu flashed back to them.

"Alright, can you still run?" Ryu saw three nods, and the girl was still embarrassed without pants. "Good, I suppose I can carry you Miss."

"Kari." Was the girl's reply.

"Alright then, I'll carry Kari and we'll make our way back to Konoha. We won't be stopping so here's some soldier pills." Ryu handed the chunin leader a bag of soldier pills, and the group then made their return to Konoha.

**-Nine and a half Hours Later-**

"... Is that all Ryu?" The Hokage tiredly asked from behind the desk.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Ryu nodded and handed the Yondaime the mission scroll.

"Very well then, you five are dismissed." The blonde said, and the ANBU and four chunin bowed to their leader and left the room. Just as they left, a red-headed woman entered.

"So, _Hokage-sama_, what happened this time?" The woman asked as she wrapped her hands around the Hokage's chest.

"Just an ANBU rescuing some chunins Kushi-chan." Minato answered.

"Oh? Do tell." Kushina asked her husband.

* * *

END CHAPTER!

Once again I was able to finish somehow. You might have noticed that I didn't underline each and every word in the flash back. Instead, I divided it from the rest of the story with the lines and underlined scene changes or time skips, mainly because I feel that constantly reading underlined words is a bit of an eye sore.


	9. Ch 9 The Truth and The Bloody Mist

A/N: For the last chapter, the italics used on "Hokage-sama" when Kushina was speaking to Minato was quite open ended, as I cut it off afterwards. So let your imagination wander for that.

**ultima-owner**: Yes, it will be a gradual thing, hopefully what I have planned for the twins will work out.

**KillerDonut**: Base on the poll results so far, it seems like it will be a harem, so do not worry about Naruto being alone.

**Neo Amon**: The twins' wake up call will occur during the wave mission, since I plan on making it a joint mission and adding characters into the Wave Arc. About Naruto being disappointed, most definitely.

**Lednacek**: Yeah, that was my fault for not sticking to a solid plan, but I've already changed the summary to something more accurate.

**Tha Golden Boy**: Chances are, Naruto will not have a relationship with Minato and Kushina after their working relationship, or at least not a decent one. Also the twins will be forgiven eventually. I believe that Itachi's reasons for not joining the ANBU yet was stated somewhere in Ch 7. Sasuke's and Sayuri's jonin instructor will most likely be Itachi or Kakashi, seeing as how Itachi has the most mastery over the sharingan, while Kakashi has more experience and knowledge on shinobi arts, even though itachi is more well-versed in some areas. For your last bit, Kushina will ignore Naruto for the most part until the twins question about Naruto.

**Patriot-112**: Keep in mind that the two didn't care too much about Naruto.

**ddcj1990**: Naruto will be training some of the genin teams every now and then, and your last suggestion will be answered in the chapter.

**rivereagles999**: Well, Yes Naruto will be meeting the real Shinigami, and why I changed it to a NarutoxBleach crossover should also be revealed in this chapter. However, Naruto won't rebuild the Seireitei.

**windfox90**: Actually it doesn't sound silly at all. As I said before, yes Naruto will be training Sasuke and Sayuri on occasions.

***THE PAIRING WILL BE A HAREM***

Once again, I don't own Naruto or Bleach. Now it's out there, enjoy chapter 9!

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

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**Ch. 9 The Truth and the Bloody Mist  
**

* * *

***ANBU Year 2 (11 Years after K.I)***

Naruto was training in one of the isolated training grounds, spending the rest of his day off meditating. Currently, he was in a meditative position with Tsukiyomi on his lap. He was barely able to achieve Bankai for Susanoo, and it was not fun for Naruto. He had to summon Susanoo into the real world, then fight his zanpakuto without shikai, and that meant just plain kenjutsu and Kido. Susanoo however was able to freely use his shikai and a very tiny portion of his Bankai power. Long story short, Naruto was rushed to the hospital after a series of explosions, electrical shocks, a lot of cuts, and broken bones, barely hanging on his life. He was able to do survive and win, and he absolutely loved his Bankai.

From what Susanoo said, his bankai's release command was "**Bankai. Omnipotent Storm God, Susanoo**" and unfortunately, Naruto suffered a minor headache on top of his injuries because of Susanoo's declarations. Luckily, Susanoo had graced the blonde by telling him the bankai's abilities. First and foremost was near complete control over wind, water, lightning and storm elements when using shikai, Kido, and even chakra. It opened a whole new set of paths for Naruto, who grinned at the possibilities. Secondly, he could now call out Susanoo to the real world to fight alongside him. It had it's benefits, though it wasn't actually one of the bankai's abilities. The next part was basically just a massive increase of physical abilities from the concentration of reiyoku. Susanoo apparently hinted at a third set of abilities. The blade itself extended slightly and he could use some new abilities, and luckily Naruto could use Tsukiyomi while maintaining Susanoo's bankai as well.

That wasn't to say that he was slacking off in any other area either. Naruto was now able to hold his Hollow Mask for two full hours, and his complete Hollow transformation for 30 minutes, not a small feat in his opinion. What was odd was that whenever he used his full Hollow transformation, his clothes would change into a black shihakusho with red and white lining and white cross arm guards, but when he transformed back, his clothes would change back to what he was wearing before. He had learned two new taijutsu styles, ninjutsu, and even some genjutsu from his first year in the ANBU and was proud to be classified as an S-Rank Ninja.

Naruto then grabbed Tsukiyomi and stood up. He then sheathed his zanpakuto and walked out of the training ground and headed towards his apartment.

_"I still can't believe Hayate tried to kiss Yugao..."_Naruto smiled at the thought. Hayate had tried to kiss Yugao on the cheek before he went to gate duty, and the result was a very red Yugao and a flying Hayate. Funny thing was that Hayate had taken it as his personal mission to make the purple haired kenjutsu user blush whenever he could. Unfortunately for Hayate, Yugao also discovered the swordsman's hidden perversion, while Hayate was crying anime tears as he flew.

_"I wonder how far Yugao sent Hayate that time."_ Naruto chuckled as he walked to Ichiraku Ramen again.

"Hey Teuch! I'll have the usual!" Naruto shouted as he went through the curtains again. The ramen chef nodded and left to prepare the food with Ayame. Shortly after, the father daughter duo came out with three hot bowls of ramen. With much gusto, Naruto devoured his ramen with incredible speed.

"Slow down kid, you might choke." Teuchi said with a chuckle. It seemed to only make Naruto eat faster. Then Naruto stopped to breathe.

"You make some good ramen guys! Naruto said as he plopped his last bowl in the table and slapped some ryo on the table. "I'll see you some time soon!" The blonde waved goodbye to the ramen cooks and left once more.

**-ANBU HQ-**

Now fully equipped on an early morning, Ryu appeared at one of the ANBU training grounds to do some stretches and light training. Which included doing pushups over senbon while dodging the kunai being thrown by his clones, doing ten laps around the training ground, and sparring with taijutsu and kenjutsu with dozens of clones. Did I mention he did this while wearing his new resistance seal? The seal was an ingenious creation, one Ryu cannot take credit for. It made it so that it would feel like the user was moving through water, then other dense substances like mud. It got progressively harder to move but it worked wonders. Currently Ryu was using level 2, which is only twice as hard as walking through water.

Elsewhere were some ANBU watching Ryu train. There was one with a shark mask, another with a hawk design and a third person with a tiger mask.

"The gaki's gotten much better." Shark said.

"Indeed he has. I can't believe he's improved so much in a year." Tiger added.

"He just never stops does he?" The one with the Hawk mask spoke. "He just trains and trains whenever he's not doing a mission."

"Gotta wonder why he's doing all of this." Tiger mused, and smiled behind her mask as she remembered some of the missions she had with the blonde ANBU.

**-At the same time, Hokage's Office-**

Standing before Namikaze Minato was a beautiful red haired woman. Her hair was more brown than Kushina's, and the woman seemed to be around her early twenties. She was garbed in a blue dress that stopped by her knees and chain mesh underneath. She had green eyes and had dark blue lipstick. Behind her were two ninja wearing the standard Kiri jonin vest.

"Hokage-sama, I am Terumi Mei, Leader of the Rebel faction of Kiri." The busty woman began.

"Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage. A pleasure to meet you." The Yondaime nodded to the woman who then began to speak.

"I come here to ask for aid in the Bloodline war." She stated, hoping that the blonde in front of her would send some ninja to help. A long pause followed. Then Minato let out a sigh and answered her.

"I'm afraid, that I cannot send many ninja if any. We are still recovering from the damages from the Third Shinobi War and the recent Kyuubi attack." The blonde said while the busty woman gave a depressed sigh.

"However, I may be able to send two of my nin with you. Akari-san, please get Shark and Dragon of the ANBU Corps." Mei and the other Kiri nin were now visibly happy that they were getting some form of help. The secretary nodded and quickly left to send a message to the ANBU Commander.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why are you sending ninja with us? Surely you could use them here to do missions and gain money to stabilize your economy." Mei said, wondering of what kind of ploy the Hokage may be trying to accomplish.

"I have my own suspicions of what happened to the Yondaime Mizukage. He was such a kind person when we first met, and I highly doubt he would simply change in such a short time. Dragon and Shark are two of the top ANBU, and I absolutely abhor war, no matter who is involved. There's been far too much bloodshed lately." The Hokage answered the Kiri representative, though she was still slightly suspicious of the blonde. Shortly after, two ANBU appeared in the office, one appearing in a a black shade, while the other in a swirl of leaves.

"Hokage-sama." Both ANBU shouted in unison.

"At ease Dragon, Shark. Please take off your masks." The Hokage commanded while the two ANBU complied. Dragon took off his mask revealing a 15 year old blonde with red streaks in his hair. The boy had amethyst eyes and had no trace of fat on his face. Shark parted from his mask, and revealed a man with short brown hair who seemed around his mid thirties. He had amber eyes and a scar just under his left eye.

"Your mission is to go with these Kiri nin and aid the Bloodline faction. You will not be doing this as ANBU, but as regular ninja. Please introduce yourselves to them. They are right beside you." The Hokage ordered.

"I am Naruto, no last name. A pleasure to meet you." Naruto slightly bowed to Mei.

"I'm Yamashita Hiroshi. A pleasure to make your acquaintance milady." The now known Hiroshi bowed as well.

"And I'm Terumi Mei. It is also a pleasure." Mei bowed to the two Konoha ANBU.

"Well, now that we know each other, we will be leaving for Kiri in two hours. We'll meet at the east gate." Hiroshi ordered Naruto and the Kiri nin. Naruto nodded and left in his signature shunshin while the Kiri nin went for the door.

**-Apartment 247-**

Naruto reappeared in his apartment room. It stayed relatively the same over the years, besides the blue walls, which Naruto had painted a few months ago.

"A war..." Naruto spoke out loud rather nervously.

"**Really didn't see this coming, but what the hell? MORE ACTION!**" Yami shouted through his mental link.

"HELL YEAH! FINALLY A CHANCE FOR YOU TO ACTUALLY USE BANKAI IN A BATTLE!" Susanoo added in a loud voice.

"Please shut up." Tsukiyomi politely asked the slightly rude question while giving a very creepy smile to her other roommates, both paling at the sight and nodded. She then ceased her smiling.

Naruto mentally thanked Tsukiyomi and then began unsealing all of his equipment to check them.

"Alright, 400 shuriken, 600 kunai, two brushes, a thousand black sealing tags..." Naruto quickyl counted over his tools with a thumb pressed on his lip. "Only 100 feet of ninja wire, 200 senbon, might need some more. 50 Fuma shurikens... Clothes? better fix that." Naruto finished, and then went to get some normal ninja clothing.

Naruto soon returned wearing black ANBU style pants and a dark grey shirt with a white moon on the back. He had a belt that had several pouches attached, each with a few seals inside. He wore black ninja sandals, and fingerless gloves with a metal plate on them. On his forehead was the Konoha hitae-ate and a mask covering the bottem half of his face. Lastly he had Susanoo and Tsukiyomi strapped to his belt and a dark blue cloak with the kanji of "Moon" and "Storm" on the left and right sleeves respectively.

"Damn I look good." Naruto commented on his clothes and then began sealing everything he could have possibly needed. Food, clothes, equipment, you name it. Oddly enough he decided to wear his necklace which was simply of the sun.

"Suppose I should tell Yu-chan and Hayate..." Naruto mused and left his apartment.

**-Scene Change-**

With an hour to spare, Naruto began walking around Konoha, trying to find his friends. For some reason he didn't check out the park first, and funnily enough, Itachi and his siblings, Yugao and Hayate were all there.

"What's up 'Ruto? You look like your preparing for war." Hayate said as Naruto got closer.

"Well, I am..." Naruto said.

"Eh?! Why!" Yugao exclaimed very worried for her long time friend.

"Well... the Hokage gave Shark and I a mission. Basically we go to Kiri and fight with the bloodline faction in the civil war there." Naruto summed up.

"Not exactly the greatest mission, hopefully it won't take too long." Itachi added. "Anyways, when do you leave." The elder Uchiha added.

"Hmm..." Naruto glanced at his watch. "About 30 minutes." Naruto said.

"Sasuke-kun, Sayuri-chan! Come over here for a second." Itachi called out to his siblings, knowing they would want to say goodbye to the blonde. The two Uchiha came running to their brother.

"Nii-san, what's going on?" Sasuke asked his brother.

"Yeah, Naruto-nii over there looks like he's going somewhere far." Sayuri added.

Naruto kneeled down and placed a hand on each of their heads. "Well Sasuke-kun, Sayuri-chan. I'm going on a mission very soon and I'm not sure when I'll be able to come back." He spoke in a very kind voice, both of the Uchiha became quite sad.

"Naruto-nii please come back soon!" Sayuri said, stifling tears.

"I'll be back, believe it." Naruto said giving a sad smile.

"Baka! You better come back or not even Kami can save you!" Yugao shouted.

"Easy there _Yu-chan_. I'll be back for you." Naruto teased the purple haired girl and smiled when she blushed at his teasing. Hayate was crying anime tears, his best friend was able to tease her so easily. How very sad, he needed to ask for advice...

"Anyways, I better go over to the east gate. Should be leaving quite soon." Naruto mused.

"Well, let's go see you off then ne?" Itachi suggested with everyone nodded approvingly.

"Well lets go!" Naruto exclaimed.

**-East Gate-**

"Well, I suppose I'll see you guys soon." Naruto said to his friends.

"Just make sure you don't die." Hayate joked.

"Don't even say that!" Yugao shouted. Then another person appeared.

"Well well gaki. It seems that you have some friends after all." The man said.

"Of course I do..." Naruto drawled out at his partner. Then the group of Kiri ninja walked to their position a few minutes later.

"Are we late?" Mei asked and received a shake. "Perhaps we should leave for Kiri now. It should take roughly two days to get there, and time is of the essence."

Yugao then ran up to the Naruto and tackled him into a hug, surprising the blonde. Naruto heard her sniffling and then comforted her.

"Yugao, it's okay, I'll be back soon." Naruto gave a sad smile.

"B-baka! Just *sniff* don't get yourself *sniff* killed." Yugao said in between sniffles, hiding her tears in Naruto's chest.

"Yes m'am!" Naruto jokingly said. "I gotta go now, I'll see everyone in a year or so." Yugao reluctantly let go of her best friend and watched as the group left.

"So, _Yu-chan_, care to tell us what that was about?"Hayate said very slyly. Yugao heavily blushed and sent her long time friend flying with a powerful slap. Then she left with a shunshin to avoid being teased more.

* * *

**-Kiri-**

* * *

After travelling through many forests and towns, they reached a port which took them to Mizu no Kuni. Shortly after they had reached the mist defense of Kirigakure.

"Kami damn it! I understand it's the Village Hidden in the Mist, but this is more than plenty!" Naruto shouted in frustration, being in much more mist than his comfort zone allowed, and Hiroshi only nodded.

"Just shut up! We're almost there!" Mei chided the blonde as the two Konoha ninja followed. A few minutes later, they had finally reached the hidden base for the rebel faction.

**-Rebel Faction's Base-**

"Mei-sama! Your back!" A man with blue hair wearing a green robe over some clothes greeted the woman. "Who are they? Reinforcements from Konoha?"

"Sadly, these two are the only ninja we got from Konoha, Ao. At least they are supposedly two of the best." Mei answered, happy yet sad.

"Anyways, we're having a meeting. You two are dismissed, stand guard by the entrance." Ao ordered the two Kiri bodyguards who promptly left. "Now if you would follow me, we can begin the meeting with..."

"Hiroshi sir, gaki's Naruto." Hiroshi quickly introduced himself and Naruto and then the four left for the meeting room.

Inside the room were many ninja, but not quite enough to fight a war such as this. There was a table with a map on the center and another man beside it.

"Mei-sama." The man greeted.

"It's been a while, Tetsu." Mei greeted. "Perhaps I should begin the meeting now." The leader of the rebel faction mused as she stepped up to the podium.

"Everyone, I thank you for still being here with us. Recently I left for Konoha to get some reinforcements. We were able to get some, but unfortunately only two ninja." She then pointed to Hiroshi and Naruto. "These two are Hiroshi and Naruto of Konoha. Our new allies. Anyways, this war has not been in our favour for so long. Before I left for Konoha, we were able to capture some prisoners from our last fight against Yagura's forces. Some of them most likely have intel on some of Yagura's supply warehouses and bunkers. Hopefully when we are done interrogating them, we can shift the tide into our favour." Mei then paused to take a breathe. "For Kiri!" she finished, and the crowd gave a shout of "For Kiri!" in return.

"That is all, Naruto, Hiroshi. Your Hokage said that you two were very good ninja. Perhaps one of you would be willing to interrogate some of the prisoners to help prove it." The red haired woman said.

"Sure alright then, lead the way Mei-san." Naruto volunteered for the operation. Mei then led the two Konoha ninja to the cells.

After many flights of stairs, the group arrived to jail cells. There were only four prisoners of war here, but Naruto thought it would be more than enough.

"Well? Feel free to start whenever." Mei said, and Naruto only grinned. The prisoners didn't know why they paled but they did. Actually they were shaking in fear. Then Naruto released some black and crimson reiatsu which swirled around his feet. Then the reiatsu enveloped Naruto and formed a cocoon of sorts, vanished shortly after leaving Naruto in his full Hollow transformation holding Tsukiyomi in his right hand.

"*Sigh* Bloody show off..." Hiroshi gave a tired sigh.

"What's he doing?" Mei asked, somewhat fearful of the transformation.

"Oh just watch... You'll never see interrogation like this ever." Hiroshi replied somewhat excitedly.

Returning to Naruto, garbed in his black shihakusho, he let out an insane amount of killer intent towards the first prisoner along with a maniacal cackle. Naruto's reiatsu was now visible and the first prisoner felt despair. He saw himself die in a multitude of ways, one by being sliced into thousands of pieces, and another by being burned to death. What he saw behind Naruto frightened him the most. He could have sworn that he saw the face of the Shinigami looming over the Hollowfied ninja.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The prisoner gave a hysterical scream of fear. He had never seen anything as frightening as this before, ever.

**"**Tell me what you know of Yagura's bases.**"** The layered voice of Naruto spoke, promising pain if the answer was unsatisfactory.

"I-, I-, uh..." The prisoner stuttered, trying to buy as much time as he could. This proved to be a bad decision as Naruto blasted more of his Killer Intent upon the man.

**"**Well? Speak quickly.**"** The blonde demanded, his patience slowly ticking away.

"There's... a base... about 24 mi- miles n-north. Supplies... Please don't kill me!" The prisoner cried in horror.

**"**Thanks.**"** Naruto promptly knocked out the man and returned to Mei and Hiroshi, his Hollow transformation being released as he walked.

"Well? How'd I do?" Naruto asked for opinions on his performance.

"Ibiki would have loved that." Hiroshi answered with a chuckle.

"It was an amazing display, though might I ask what the hell did you do?" Mei asked, hiding her fear and her excitement. If a kid from Konoha could do that, what could Hiroshi do?

"Oh nothing much, just used one of my personal abilities with some Killer Intent. I'm called what I am for good reason you know." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"And that would be?" Mei inquired, more curious then ever. Naruto then pulled out a bingo book and showed her his profile.

"The Living Shinigami." Naruto said after a dramatic pause. Hiroshi only sweatdropped and Mei gasped.

"Your the Living Shinigami?! We might actually have a chance!" Mei exclaimed in such happiness one might have thought she had finally lost it. The three conscious prisoners had lost all colour on their skin and fainted.

"Well, try not to spread it around too much. Lets head back and plan an assault. If it really is a supply base, then we will need it." Naruto said. The other two nodded and left for the stairs again...

Returning to the main level of the base, Naruto and Hiroshi passed by what seemed to be some training grounds, a cafeteria and living quarters. Back in the meeting room, there were about five other people just relaxing there, playing cards. Naruto assumed they were some of the higher ranked ninja here. Most people saw their leader and the interrogators returning and followed them to the meeting room.

"Well Tetsu, our interrogation proved to be a great success thanks to Naruto. Only one prisoner and we found a supply base 24 miles north." Mei said, getting the attention of the five towards her. Then Tetsu walked up towards Naruto and extended a hand.

"Bravo gaki. Hopefully your just as good on the battlefield." The older man said as Naruto took hold and gave a firm handshake.

"I am to please." Naruto said.

"Right, now we should plan our assault, we want those supplies for this battle. Our own supplies are quite limited." Mei began.

_"Thank god I prepared for_ _this."_ Naruto mused.

"The base is most likely a large warehouse so we'll have two teams of three. From what Hokage-sama said, Hiroshi and Naruto are excellent in every shinobi field, especially for infiltrations when they work together. Team A will consist of Tetsu, Chojuro and Emiko. Team B will have Hiroshi, Naruto and Hayashi. Any objections? Good, we will strike after the sun sets. This is a stealth operation, so keep that in mind before you do something. Dismissed. Teams, get ready for the operation." Mei finished.

"Hai!" was shouted by the six for the mission. Then someone walked up to Naruto and Hiroshi.

"Name's Momochi Hayashi. It seems we'll be working together for this." Hayashi said in a gruff voice.

"Are you related to Momochi Zabuza by chance?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yes, I'm his brother. What's it to you?" Hayashi snapped slightly.

"Nothing, just that I fought him a while ago on a mission. Don't worry he's still alive." Hiroshi said a little nervous of the tall man who only gave a "Hmph" in return.

"How about we just get ready..." Naruto lazily suggested. His teammates nodded and left.

**-Night time-**

Six figures are seen rushing through a forest heading north. They were in groups of three and were advancing silently yet very quickly. After one hour, they had seen what seemed to be a rundown warehouse. There were some broken windows and the front entrance has seen much better days. Funny thing was that no one was guarding it from the outside.**  
**

"Seems like intel was accurate." Tetsu spoke through the radio.

"Mhmm. Everyone slap on an invisibility seal before you go in. Keep it quiet." Hayashi ordered, and everyone complied.

Each person surrounded the warehouse and entered from different areas. Team B took the south and eastern sections of the warehouse. From the ceiling Naruto scouted the area for his group.

"There's a ton of crates, full of supplies. There's 2 guards at the north and south entrance. 6 guards patrolling the perimeter and two in a corner, probably on a break." Naruto said through the radio.

"We have to take all of them out in one strike. Naruto and Emiko, take the guards by the entrances. Chojuro, you have the two in the corner. Hiroshi, Hayashi and I will take the guards patrolling the area. We can't afford to screw this up understood?" Tetsu ordered his group and received several whispers of "Hai" through the radio.

"Good. On my mark." Tetsu said. Everyone took out a kunai, but Chojuro wielded the Hiramekarei, and Naruto unsheathed Tsukiyomi.

"3. 2." The group tensed as they prepared to strike.

"1. Mark." With the final word, each member came down and killed their targets in one swoop.

"All dead." Naruto spoke through the radio but then extended his senses outside the building and tensed. "Damn. Guys, there are several ninja closing in on our position." He warned his teammates of the incoming twenty or so Kiri loyalists.

"How many?" Tetsu asked.

"Around twenty. Chunin to low jonin level. They'll be here in about 10 minutes tops." Naruto replied.

"Naruto, they said your an intermediate seal user right? We'll ambush them, so make something to keep them in one place." Tetsu ordered as Naruto pulle dout several blank sealing tags and his brush and ink.

"Already on it." With expert calligraphy, Naruto filled each seal with a custom paralysis seal and slapped them on his kunai. "One minute, get ready!" Naruto shouted as he flashed onto the roof holding five kunai with his custom seals on them. Just as the group of loyalists appeared from the forest, Naruto flung each kunai, landing in the shape of a pentagon. All twenty three nin tensed as the heard a shout.

"**Sealing Art: Pentagram Paralysis Sealing!**"

The five kunai glowed and a pillar of light shot to the sky. Each pillar then connected to each other and instantly took effect. The trapped ninja couldn't move. Soon the light disappeared, leaving a group of paralyzed ninja. Shortly after, Tetsu and Hayashi appeared, each holding a tanto. Both of them rushed and swiftly killed each person, leaving a gory mess where the trapped ninja once were.

"Hadn't have a blood bath that big for years." Hayashi walked back to his team stretching his back while doing so.

"Only you and your brother..." Tetsu mumbled while dragging an unconscious survivor.

"Well, it seems like a mission accomplished. Now let's go seal some of this crap and bring it back." The leader said as a clone of Naruto flashed beside the original and handed the original a giant sealing scroll, afterwards the clone dispersed itself.

"Well, there's no need. My clone did that while you guys were enjoying yourselves." Naruto drawled out as he wore the scroll on his back. Then the blonde did the unexpected, he unsealed a sandwich...

"Seriously gaki? Gimme one." Hiroshi jokingly demanded his partner.

"Hm..." Naruto pressed his thumb on his lip and entered what he called a "thinking pose" and sat there for a minute. "Nope!" The blonde chirped. Everyone sweatdropped at the Konoha ninjas' display, while Tetsu did not as he was too busy tying the survivor in ninja wire and slapped one of Naruto's seals on him.

"We should... go now..." Naruto said in between bites. Tetsu facepalmed.

"Yeah, let's go... I wanna dump this guy in a cell." Tetsu said.

**-Rebel Base-**

The two teams returned to their base and were greeted by Mei.

"You, take the prisoner to a jail cell. Anyways I trust your mission went smoothly?" Mei said as they walked towards the meeting room.

"Yes, we took all of the supplies." Tetsu said. "I'll give my report later."

"Alright then, come with me and we can drop off the supplies." Mei said as she walked away. Naruto then shrugged and followed her, still carrying a giant scroll.

"I'll assume that everything's in that Naruto?" Mei pointed at the scroll questioned him.

"Yes they are." Naruto said.

"Well here's the supply room, let me help you unload everything." Mei offered her help as she opened the door. Naruto nodded and walked in, holding the scroll in his hands. Finding a nice empty space in the room, Naruto began unsealing the crates of equipment.

"Oh my! How much did you find?" Mei gasped.

"Enough." Naruto answered as the two began sorting everything out. They had found four crates of shuriken and kunai, two crates of armour and equipment, one crate of other weapons, several for rations, and one for scrolls. The two ninja quickly stored everything where they belonged and left the room.

"Well that was a lot. Now could you escort me back to my room, _Na~ru~to~kun_?" The busty woman asked Naruto in a flirtatious voice.

"Of course I will, _Mei~chan_." Naruto replied just as playfully and walked her back to her room. On the way, both of them had received many jealous looks from both the male and female population. Yes Naruto was the envy of many men who wanted to be with Mei, and Mei was the envy of most women who wanted to have a piece of the mysterious new blonde.

"Well this is it. Have a good night Mei-chan." Naruto said.

"I'll see you in the morning Naruto." Mei answered as she closed the door. Then Naruto left for his room.

Many minutes later, Naruto was still at a table with his rough copy of "Loveless" in front of him. Unable to sleep, Naruto decided to work on his new book, and he was just about finished. He had to write the final Act and write a good copy before he sent it to a publisher. Chances are he could send it to the same person who published Jiraiya's smut. After thinking and writing for an hour, Naruto had finally finished. He reread his story and smiled, it seemed pretty good in his opinion. Sealing his work, Naruto returned to his living quarters and promptly fell asleep.

**-8 Months Later-**

Naruto and his partner Hiroshi were still in Kiri, fighting alongside the Rebel faction to overthrow Yagura in the Bloodline war. The war was still at a standstill for the most part, as the Rebels had a limited number of people, but had more than enough supplies. Yagura's force however was much larger, outnumbering the Rebels nearly 4 to 1. Most battles were usually small scuffles and thank Kami for that. If Yagura had attacked with his full invading force, the Rebels would most likely lose.

Naruto would often write back to his friends in Konoha. The Uchiha were doing quite well, but Sasuke and Sayuri missed him a lot. Hayate had become a jonin and had finally won a spar against Yugao. Naruto's thoughts shifted to the purple haired girl. She wrote to Naruto the most out of his small group of friends, and often told stories of her missions alongside another purple haired dango-lover. It seems that she finally found someone to share her passion of dango with. Naruto smilled remembering the letter she wrote about it.

Naruto's relationship with the Kiri nin he was fighting with had also grown. Tetsu, Hayashi, Hiroshi and himself would often have kenjutsu spars. Naruto had also gotten to know most people, especially Mei. Speaking of the buxom woman, the two would flirt with each other quite often. She had opened up to Naruto and told him that she was still rather sad that she didn't have a fiance or anything. Ao would usually say something which can be taken as a talk of Mei's love life, which ended with Ao being threatened by Mei, and it happened quite often. Naruto laughed as he remembered the man's face when both he and Mei threatened him when he was commenting on their flirting. Naruto was snapped out of his reminiscing when their leader spoke.

"After almost two years, we are closer to defeating Yagura then ever before! Recently we had received intel that there will be a large attack force attacking us from Yagura. Intel says that the attacking force will be slightly under 100,000 ninja. At the pace they are traveling, we have about two weeks to prepare for the fight. Going away from the battle, intel also says that the Loyalists have found an ancient temple of sorts. Details are very vague but it says that the temple is around 50 miles east, with inscriptions saying something about an ancient power and the Rikudo Sennin." At this Naruto's eyes widened, though only Mei and Hiroshi caught it. "Anyways that is all. Prepare for the incoming battle."

With that, everyone left the room, very worried and anxious. Many of them were doubting their abilities to survive through the battle. Then Naruto rushed to Mei.

"Mei-chan, I have to go to that temple. I'm almost certain I know what that temple was referring to." Naruto whispered to her.

"Are you sure? For all we could know it's a trap." Mei asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Naruto said in a kind voice, her worries slowly disappearing.

"Fine, just be back for the fight. We need you for this." Mei said receiving a nod from the blonde who left to prepare.

At a table, Naruto unloaded all of his equipment to check what he may need.

"Alright, I only need more senbon and ninja wire. Not too bad." Naruto shrugged then went to get said tools. Leaving the base, Naruto smiled at Mei and flashed east towards the temple.

**-2 Hours Later-**

Naruto flashed and reappeared towards a clearing and gasped. The scenery awaiting the blonde was incredible! There was green grass with plenty of flowers. To his left was a lake, and past that was a waterfall. Naruto absolutely loved it, but something about the waterfall struck Naruto as odd. Naruto sent a clone to investigate and decided to slap an invisibility seal on him and relax.

A few minutes later Naruto's clone dispersed and the original Naruto regained the memories. His clone saw a cave behind the waterfall. After a bit of walking, his clone came upon a temple entrance. In the center was a tablet that was somehow floating. What was inscribed on the tablet his clone was not able to see before running out of chakra. Naruto stood up and wandered to the temple.

Walking towards the tablet, Naruto read it out loud.

"One shall rise with power before the one known as the Rikudo Sennin.  
He who wields three will rise from sadness.  
He will then grow strong to protect, to bring justice and happiness,  
And become the guardian of the world."

Naruto was officially shocked. It seemed to refer to Naruto, but at the same time it didn't.

"Well? Any opinions?" Naruto asked his roommates. Yet again colour sapped away from the world.

"Oh come on, not this again! Can't I ever catch a break?" Naruto shouted to no one in particular. He did not notice that the tablet was being surrounded by white reiatsu. He did notice when it moved towards him and was sucked into Naruto.

"AAAHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed in pain. This reiatsu felt so comforting, yet painful. Soon, the screaming died down and Naruto was in peaceful unconsciousness.

**-Naruto's Mindscape-**

Naruto's mindscape rumbled and changed. From the house in peaceful plains, it was reset to skyscrapers with blue sky above and an abyss below.

"Hey! Tsuki-chan! Susanoo, Yami!" Naruto called out to his local spirits.

"**HEY WHAT THE HELL IS THIS FOR?!**" Yami shouted, extremely angry that he was so close to beating his record of building a card tower.

"I don't know! I was gonna ask you for answers!" Naruto shouted in return.

"Well we should just wait and see what happens. That tablet was quite odd though." Tsukiyomi said.

**"Perhaps I should explain."**A chilling voice spoke from behind the four.

"Hiya Tsu-nee-chan, Susanoo!" A familiar voice to the zanpakuto chirped.

"Ama-chan!" Tsukiyomi rushed over and hugged the new guest.

The being then spoke. **"If you are done the greetings, we must move along. Naruto, I am the goddess you mortals refer to as the Shinigami."** Naruto paled instantly.

**"Relax Naruto-san, I'm not here to take your soul...yet. Anyways, she"** The Shinigami pointed at the other guest. **"Is your third zanpakuto. You did not receive her until now because you did not have enough reiyoku to have Tsukiyomi, Susanoo, and your counterpart all at once. However, the white reiyoku from the tablet **** and a bit of my own ****was absorbed by you, giving you enough reiyoku to have all four of them at once. It was just chance that you received Tsukiyomi and Susanoo first."** The goddess explained. Naruto slowly regained his colour.

Then the Shinigami's form glowed and changed. Instead of a ghastly entity, it was a beautiful woman standing before the group. She appeared as a young woman with long black hair that went down to her waist, with a bang above her right eye. Her skin was porcelain pale and her figure would have made any man die of a nose bleed. She also wore a kimono which only accentuated her figure, and wore no footwear.

**"What the inscription meant, you must know events from long before the one called the Rikudo Sennin."** The goddess' melodious voice spoke, and Naruto nodded.

**"Humanity was more advanced than it is now, though they did not use chakra. Before, there were Shinigami."** She began.

"As in more than one?!" Naruto exclaimed.

**"Yes, but I was called the Spirit King at the time. The main duties of a Shinigami were to patrol the World of the Living for 'Pluses' or good souls. They are then sent to the Soul Society, or heaven as you call it. However, there are souls called 'Hollows'. Hollows were souls that were unable to cross over to the Soul Society after a prolonged period of time, or were corrupted in their lives. They were considered 'evil' and Shinigami were also required to defeat these beings with the zanpakuto, and purify them. However, those that did many evil deeds in their life were sent to hell."** The goddess explained.

**"Hollows had several levels. First was the Gillian, strong but were able to be dispatched quickly. Next were the Adjuchas, who much stronger and smarter than the Gillian. Finally there was the Vaste Lordo. There were very few, but all of them were very powerful. They could challenge your village leaders and win."** The Shinigami continued.

**"However, there were two other groups. The first were called the 'Visored'. They were shinigami who had obtained some Hollow abilities. Secondly, there were the Arrancar, who were Hollows that had gained the powers of a shinigami. Unfortunately there was a twisted Shinigami by the name of Sosuke Aizen, who had something in his possession called the 'Hogyoku'. It was an object of unbelievable power. With this, Aizen had created an army of Arrancar with the goal of becoming a god." **Naruto paled again.

**"Of course he failed, and was sealed away for eternity, but at a heavy cost. Every shinigami had fought and died, the Hollows faced the same fate as well while reiyoku disappeared. However, the battle also destroyed most of humanity. Naruto, you were chosen to become a Shinigami to protect this world should another threat like Aizen arise." **The goddess finished her explanation.

"Alright, so I'm a Visored on top of Shinigami. I'm the new guardian of the world and I have to defend the world when a threat like this Aizen guy pops up. Okay no pressure." Naruto nervously made his connection to this. The Shinigami gave a chuckle at the blonde's new duty.

**"I must be off now, if you need to contact me, just think of it in your mindscape. Remember Naruto, you don't have to do everything yourself. You have friends and allies you can trust and rely on."** With those final words, the Goddess of Death left the mindscape which rumbled and returned to what it once was.

**"Well, that was odd."** Yami suddenly said.

"Oh yeah it was, it seems that you have a lot of work to do Naruto." Susanoo added.

"Seems so, anyways, what might your name be?" Naruto asked his third zanpakuto. She then stopped jumping around.

"I'm Amaterasu!" The now known Amaterasu exclaimed.

"Sweet, first time. Well Ama-chan, it's nice to meet you... Now I need another sword style..." Naruto said, slightly depressed.

**"Don't worry. But you should still head back to you new leader. Kami knows she needs your company."** Yami joked, receiving two slaps on the head as Naruto left the mindscape, secretly planning ways to torture his counterpart.

**-Hidden Temple-**

Naruto re-awoke and saw his new zanpakuto lying in front of him. He smirked and strapped Amaterasu onto his belt with his other zanpakuto. After regaining his bearings, Naruto sealed the tablet and left the temple.

**-2 Hours Later, Rebel Base-**

With many shunpo's, Naruto returned to the base. Not being sure of what to do now, he left for the meeting room, only to walk Mei on the way.

"Naruto! You're back!" Mei hugged the blonde tightly, pressing her bust into Naruto, causing him to blush.

"Yeah I am." Naruto replied, not sure of what to say.

"So? What did you find?" Mei asked, truly curious.

"A tablet with inscriptions about ancient powers and guardians of the world arising." Naruto said, not wanting people to establish a connection between him and the ancient power they referred to. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't completely the truth either.

"How vague..." Mei pouted, still not releasing him from the hug.

"Well, I wanna go prepare for the upcoming battle, so can you let go?" Naruto asked. Mei finally realized that she was still hugging the blonde released him and blushed.

**-2 Weeks Later-**

**"HADO #88: HIRYU GEKIZOKU SHINTEN RAIHO!"** Naruto shouted in his full Hollow form. A massive beam of electrical energy was shot from the ninja's palm and raced towards the invading enemies; the Loyalists of the Bloodline wars. The blast tore through lines of ninja, creating a much needed opening for the Rebel faction.

"First Line, Fire Jutsu. Attack!" The leader of the Rebel faction shouted. A multitude of fire techniques was launched towards the enemy. Using this opportunity, the ninja of the Rebel faction rushed in to the battle. Naruto saw the leaders nod at him as they rushed in. Naruto unsheathed Susanoo and quickly shunpo'ed towards the enemies.

**"Senka"** Naruto whispered. He then vanished and reappeared behind a now dead group on ninja. The blonde then unsheathed Tsukiyomi and settled into his **Nitoryu** stance.

* * *

Not too far away, Tetsu, Hayashi and Hiroshi were all charging in with their blades out, cutting through each enemy nearby.

"That's 16 for me." Tetsu said.

"Ha! 25 kills!" Hayashi laughed at his friend.

"Oh? 39 kills here." Hiroshi said with a smirk on his face, the other two had a look of horror, the Konoha swordsmen was beating the both of them. Then one of their allies came up to them.

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY PLAYING A GAME RIGHT NOW?!" The random ninja shouted as he left the three swordsmen who just shrugged it off and continued.

* * *

On the other side of the battlefield, Mei, Ao and Chojuro were holding off the enemies.

"**Yoton: Yokai no Jutsu**"

Mei shot a large amount of lava into the air which spread into a large blanket, covering many of the Loyalists in lava. Chojuro had his Hiramekarei covered in chakra and defended his allies near him. Ao was dispatching a small group of nin with a kunai in hand. Then a medic ninja came.

"Is everyone alright here?" She asked. Seeing everyone nod, she rushed to the next group from the Rebel faction.

* * *

The plains that were once lush and green were now ashes. Naruto was still decimating every enemy with Susanoo and Tsukiyomi, both charged with storm element reiatsu and wind element respectively. Hiroshi, Hayashi and Tetsu were still keeping count of their kills, each at about 7000 or so. Ao had left Mei and Chojuro to help defend the medic ninjas, seeing as how Mei and Chojuro were both perfectly fine. Members of the Hozuki clan fought along some of the Kaguya clan. However, the battlefield itself was not fine.

Ice and crystal shards littered the area, along with cooled lava and mist. The landscape had changed immensely after many jutsu, some hitting the ground and making craters, or just platforms of raised earth. No matter where you looked, there would always be blood and bodies. Some corpses were even missing limbs. However, the battle still continued.

* * *

The fight extended longer than most would have liked it to be. The entirety of the battle was a little over 7 hours. In the end, the Rebel faction had won with many injuries, but only a hundred or so deaths. The Loyalists were decimated, almost no one survived to return to Yagura and report. The rebels regrouped and cheered as they returned to their base to celebrate this victory.

**-Rebel Faction Base-**

In the cafeteria, everyone was laughing and having a good time. Many bottles of sake were emptied as people drank them.

"Here's to a victory!" Mei shouted as everyone raised their sake dishes and returned the shout with "To Victory!"

Naruto, having never actually drank sake before, even if he had to bail Hayate out of sake bills before, was incredibly nervous as Hiroshi handed him a dish.

"Um... thanks?" Naruto nervously said, not sure what to do with it.

"No prob- wait a minute." Hiroshi cut his thoughts as he tried to examine what was wrong with the moment. Then he bursted out laughing.

"What?" Naruto growled, his ire slowly rising.

"Oh man! You... You've never... had sake before?!" Hiroshi exclaimed in between fits of laughter.

"Of course not you bastard. I may be able to legally drink it but I find it's immoral... I've seen what it does to Hayate in the morning..." Naruto slapped his partner on the back of the head, though Hiroshi was only able to contain his mirth by small fits of giggles.

"Hello Naruto-kun." Mei walked over to Naruto, who was now slightly blushing and very nervous.

"Um, hi Mei-chan." Naruto slightly stuttered.

"Oh good luck getting out of this one gaki!" Hiroshi left hiding all of his chuckles.

"So what was that about?" Mei asked.

"Just my partner being himself." Naruto sighed. Then Mei noticed the sake dish.

"You don't drink?" Mei asked and received a nod in the negative. "Perhaps we could just talk in a room somewhere." Mei suggested as she stood up and dragged Naruto away from the party, though Hiroshi saw this too.

"It seems that today is the day you become a man gaki." Hiroshi said to himself with a perverted grin plastered on his face.

After being dragged into another room, both Mei and Naruto sat down.

"Not that I mind such a beautiful woman wanting to talk to me, but why do you want to know more about me?" Naruto asked.

"You intrigue me, and you seem different from most people." Mei said.

"Well alright then, what do you want to start with?" Naruto asked, starting the long conversation about themselves and their lives. Naruto spoke of his likes, dislikes, hobbies and goals. Then he started talking about his best friends in Konoha, and his life starting from when he became a genin. Naruto talked on until he reached the day he became an ANBU. Then Mei spoke of her likes and whatnot. Turns out Mei liked light, fish, blue and the ocean. She disliked rapists, sexists, and people who discriminated. Also she enjoyed singing and cooking, even if she happened to be bad at the latter. Then she moved on to her life. She told him of her family, her childhood and her time as a ninja. This took up majority of the day, so Naruto opted to provide some music for the woman via his violin, and she instantly fell in love with the blonde's music like most other people did.

**-6 months Later-**

Naruto and Mei had gotten much closer than they once were, and unfortunately for both, they had drawn many jealous and angry glares towards them whenever they were near each other. Hiroshi assumed they were going to begin dating used this to his advantage by mercilessly teasing the blonde ANBU. Now, every ninja of the Rebel Faction gathered around the table in the meeting room. They were anxious, seeing as how its been 15 months since the arrival of Hiroshi and Naruto, both helping them turn the tides of the war. Unfortunately both Yagura and the Rebel faction were getting desperate. Naruto stood against the wall with his hands crossed beside his friend and ally Hiroshi.

Mei then slammed her hand on the table and began to speak. "Everyone, new intel shows that Yagura will be launching one final assault on this base with the remainder of his forces. Apparently Yagura himself will be attacking as well, remember that he's the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi." Mei paused to let this new information sink in.

"After being in a deadlock for so many months, we finally have one last battle to end this. The invading force will be here in one month's time so please prepare and spend time with your friends and families. That is all." Mei said in a sad voice before getting up and leaving. The crowd began to talk amongst themselves.

"So gaki, this could turn out very well or very poorly." Hiroshi said in his gruff voice.

"Ya think?" Naruto asked, hiding his annoyance poorly.

"It's probably the last battle in this war, so I saw we train for three weeks, then kick back and relax for the last week." Hiroshi suggested and received a nod of approval from Naruto. The two of them then walked to the underground training facility, and Naruto opted to meditate and learn more about Amaterasu, seeing as how he was far too busy to do so before. Naruto unsheathed Amaterasu and placed his zanpakuto on his lap and began meditating.

**-Naruto's Mindscape-**

Returning to his mindscape after so long, Naruto immediately went inside the lone house. Susanoo was sleeping on the couch, Yami was making a pyramid of dominoes instead of cards, while Tsukiyomi was simply drinking tea. How some they made tea and found dominoes, Naruto will have to figure out.

"Hey guys, where's Rasu-chan?" Naruto asked, they raised an eyebrow at the nickname but shrugged it off.

"She's upstairs getting clothes." Tsukiyomi said with a smile and a tone both promising pain should something happen that the moon goddess did not like. Naruto paled and nodded. The blonde decided to sit down at the table and have some tea as well.

After a few short minutes, Naruto heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Oh Hiya Naruto-kun!" Amaterasu said as she saw Naruto. The blonde then snapped towards the voice and blushed at what he saw.

Amaterasu was about the same height as Tsukiyomi, which was roughly 5'7. She had dark red hair reaching her waist much like Tsukiyomi, though she had two bangs over her face. Her eyes were a dark brown, and her skin was light, but not pale. She wore a red, orange and yellow kimono with patterns of the sun. However the kimono still revealed a decent amount of cleavage, though Naruto did not notice. Of course, like the other zanpakuto, she did not wear any footwear.

"Uh... Ohayo Rasu-chan." Naruto quickly recomposed himself while Amaterasu blushed lightly. The spirit then sat down beside Tsukiyomi and took a cup of tea.

"I assume you're here to learn more about my abilities." She stated more than she asked and received a nod in return.

"Well, I am Amaterasu, after the Goddess of the Sun. So you can guess my power surrounds fire." Amaterasu began and saw her wielder paying attention.

"The Uchiha clan has a technique based off of my powers, the black flames. However those are not the strongest types of fire. My power is over all fire, but only white fire is needed as it's the best. My release phrase is "Burn through the shining heavens, Amaterasu". The blade should be the same size as Tsukiyomi here, so you don't have to worry about changing sword styles to adjust. Like Tsuki-chan and Susanoo, some of your reiyoki becomes more concentrated, therefore increasing your speed and such. Also, you have more control over the fire element. When you channel your reiyoku into the blade, it heats up. It'll have it's uses some day.

My main attack involves charging your blade with fire elemental spiritual energy and launching it with in a high concentration. Usually it comes out as a very wide wave of white fire. Unlike those two, I actually have a second attack, it is called 'Rising Sun'. After channeling fire energy into my blade, you do an upward swing and a long row of fire erupts from the ground. Of course you can just use channel energy into the blade to augment your attacks, or make new attacks." Amaterasu sipped her tea, but then heated it up with her fingers and continued to drink. "That's about it for now Naruto-kun."

"Wow, three awesome partners and one pseudo-me. I'm official awesome." Naruto said. The two zanpakuto awake blushed from the praise and Yami sneezed, watching his new tower crumble into a pile of dominoes. The counterpart began crying anime tears mumbling something that sounded like "It's not fair..." Naruto sweatdropped at his counterpart's antics.

"Well, I better get going now. It was nice visiting you guys after a while." Naruto waved goodbye and left the mindscape, leaving Yami and the female spirits to to their own things.

"So, poker anyone?" Amaterasu suggested.

**-Rebel Base Training Facility-**

Naruto awoke from his trance, then he grabbed Amaterasu and stood up. Finding an open place, Naruto then unsheathed Tsukiyomi and settled into his Nitoryu stance. He gripped Tsukiyomi in his left hand and Amaterasu in his right hand, then began doing his katas. Then he took things up a notch.

"Envelope the world in your presence, **Tsukiyomi**. Burn through the shining heavens, **Amaterasu.**"

Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu glowed white and red respectively and transformed into their shikai forms. Amaterasu was very similar to Tsukiyomi, but the guard was a 12 pointed star with the kanji of "Sun" under the blade, and the hilt was red and black. Naruto felt a power boost and then did his katas once again. His eyes glowed blue as he was slowly covered in red and white reiatsu.

Hiroshi, Tetsu and Hayashi were currently watching Naruto perform his katas. It seems that more and more people were stopping to watch the blonde train.

"Kid seems to be good at what he does." Hayashi said.

"I wonder where he got the swords. They're like the ones from the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist. I can feel the power from here." Tetsu stated in awe.

"The gaki would never tell me. Says something about being in sync." Hiroshi said. Then they saw something that shocked them. Naruto's blades were covered in dense white energy and the other had white flames licking the sharp edge.

"Sweet Kami! I've never seen that one before!" Hiroshi exclaimed. _"What else are you hiding gaki?"_

"Wonder what he's go-" Tetsu said, but was cut off when Naruto slashed both of his zanpakuto in an X pattern one after another and released the energy from the tip of the blades. One crescent shaped energy projectile was launched after a wide wave of white fire. Finally when the dust settled, the wall had now sported two very deep gashes, and Naruto was panting slightly.

"Well there's your answer." Hayashi said to the tall man beside him, then turned to the blonde. "Kid, think you can keep the destruction down a bit? People still need ta use the training ground." he yelled. Naruto faced him and scratched his head sheepishly.

" *Sigh* Hopefully we'll pull through this last fight." Tetsu mumbles to himself.

**-One Month Later-**

In an large clearing, two armies met. One consisting of every ninja of the Rebel faction, while the other being the remainder of Yagura's force. Then the Yondaime Mizukage shouted.

"Rebel scum! Today is the final day that you live! Your blood is tainted and must be removed from this world! Attack!" The child-looking man shouted. Then his entire force started running through the clearing, while the leader simply stood back and watched with a smirk, thinking of his possible victory.

"Oh MAN THIS WILL BE FUN!" Hayashi shouted as he drew his tanto and dashed into the battle, a grin stitched on his face.

"I won't lose to you Momochi!" Tetsu shouted as he charged in just behind the other swordsmen.

"Kami help us..." Mei mumbled. Then she shouted "Attack! For Victory!". In return she got yells of "For Victory!" in return. Naruto quickly donned his Hollow mask and flew into the air and began charging a crimson coloured ball of energy. Five seconds later, Naruto feels the ball fully charged.

**"Cero"**

One moment the Loyalists were charging in to kill the rest of the impure people, then a giant red blast shot into their army, cause much needed chaos and death. The Rebels, seeing a red blast shoot from Naruto's fingertips, used this as the signal to charge into the battle. The destruction caused by the hollow attack was quite devastating, leaving a large crater as it blasted through several dozen ninja. Then he unsheathed Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu in each of his hands as he descended to the battle. Quickly settling into his Nitoryu stance, Naruto dashed to a group of Loyalists surrounding a person with a bandaged sword.

**"Nitoryu: Nanijuni Pound Ho!"**

Two compressed projectiles spiraled and smashed into the surrounding enemies as Naruto landed.

"You alright Chojuro?" Naruto asked as he landed by Chojuro and a medic nin. "Damn, don't you dare lose confidence in yourself now!"

"I'll, I'll be fine, maybe in a bit." Chojuro half-stuttered. Naruto only yanked him to his feet.

"No! You are fine! Stand tall and fight with confidence to free your own country!" Naruto shouted at the somewhat shy swordsman. Now inspired and filled with more confidence, Chojuro smiled.

"Um. Thanks Naruto-san." Chojuro said. Naruto nodded and left Chojuro to rejoin the fight. Holding his weapon with two hands, the swordsman channeled chakra and charged into the battle to help.

**-With Hiroshi-**

"48!" Hayashi yelled to his rivals of Kiri.

"52!" Tetsu yelled to the leaf ninja.

"73!" Hiroshi shouted after flicking off a lot of blood from his tanto, the other two swordsmen stared at him with wide eyes.

"What? Oh that's 74 now." Hiroshi said as he slashed another enemies throat. A ninja then came up to the three to check on them and facepalmed when he heard the conversation.

"Only you three can make the most out of a war..." The nin said as he took out a kunai and tossed at an incoming enemy. "One..."

"Problem Endo? 80 People!" Hiroshi yelled as he cackled with glee as he jumped to the side, avoiding a group of kunai, though one scratched his cheek.

**-With Naruto-**

Still wearing his hollow mask, Naruto rushed into the group of enemies and started channeling spiritual energy into both of his zanpakuto. and did an upward slash with Amaterasu, releasing the condensed energy.

**"Rising Sun!"**

A wave of fire shot from the ground and burned everything it met. Then Naruto followed up by releasing a wave of energy into the wall of white fire.

**"**Man that's hot...**"** Naruto said to himself. The white flames soon subsided, though he could still feel the heat from the fire. Then some shuriken whizzed by Naruto, some closer than he would like. All of them hit a group of enemies Naruto forgot about to the left.

"Pay attention Naruto-kun. I'd prefer that such a handsome man as yourself survive through this." Mei chided the blonde who scratched the back of his head sheepishly and blushed, just as he felt something scratching the metal plate on his glove.

"Where's Yagura?" Naruto asked as he went on the defensive from an assailant from behind.

"He's still standing in the back of the fight. Though it looks like he'll be joining the battle soon." Mei shouted as she defended from an attacker.

"Damn, things aren't looking good for us." Naruto mumbled as he kicked away the Loyalist.

**-5 Hours Later-**

Still fighting against Yagura's army, the Rebel faction were becoming weary and tired from all of the fighting. The same could be said about the Loyalists, though Yagura was still very fresh and energized. Taking hold of his staff, Yagura decided to enter the battle and meet the thorns.

Currently, Naruto just left a medic nin's tent after getting some of his more serious injuries fixed up. As strong as he was, he wasn't invincible. Naruto then dashed into the battle to help his allies, but felt a presence coming. A very powerful one that he had hoped he was wrong about.

"Everyone! Yagura may be joining the fight now! Stay back!" Naruto shouted as he unsealed Susanoo and dashed to intercept the threat.

_"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU USE ME! I WANTED IN ON THIS TOO!" _Susanoo shouted.

_"Okay, okay. Sorry about not using you earlier, but I hope you like turtles."_ Naruto mentally replied to the storm god. Susanoo's blade crackled electricity in what Naruto assumed was in happiness. Looking up, Naruto saw that a storm was nearly formed.

_"Perfect..."_ Naruto grinned at the sky.

"Gaki! Yagura's coming ya know!" Hiroshi shouted to Naruto as the three other swordsmen joined the blonde.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing then? Cooking fried turtle?" Naruto sarcastically suggested.

"If this wasn't a war, I would love to try some." Hayashi said in amusement, then they saw Yagura facing the leader of the Rebel faction, Terumi Mei. Worriedly, the four dashed even faster to help their friend.

Shortly after, the group appeared beside Mei.

"Mei-sama, reinforcements are coming soon." Tetsu whispered.

"I take it that you four were the thorns in my side for all of this time? I didn't think that you of all people would be leading this, Mei." Yagura shouted across the clearing.

"Hell yeah we were!" Naruto shouted back as he quickly gathered reiyoku to prepare for the battle. Blue reiatsu swirled around Naruto's feet, and his eyes glowed, showing his resolve, his will.

"Very well then. After you I shall purify the land!" Thunder boomed in the background as Yagura shouted across the clearing once more, preparing to strike. The Mizukage then dashed towards the group at blinding speeds, but was blown back as Naruto's reiatsu created a pillar of energy into the sky.

"**Ban-Kai! Omnipotent Storm God Susanoo!**"

The storm became much more violent at rapid paces. Lightning crackled in the sky as several bolts of lightning shot to the ground around Naruto.

"This is my first time using this technique in battle, so hopefully I can maintain it for long enough." Naruto said as his reiatsu skyrocketed and his zanpakuto changed to a black blade.

"**Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi!**" Naruto shouted as he slashed his sword downward, a colossal sword from the heavens slashed down upon Yagura with great speed. As the dust settled, Yagura was revealed with a cloak of red chakra with three tails floating behind him, holding his staff in a defensive position directed at the disappearing sword. However, he only had a shallow cut on his chest.

"Interesting ability rebel. I congratulate you. May I have your name before I kill you?" Yagura asked as he dropped his arms.

"Naruto." Was the reply.

"Interesting indeed." Yagura said, and then he disappeared and stabbed Naruto in the gut with the end of his staff. The blonde ninja was shot backwards, his reiatsu becoming more untamed like a storm. Then the final fight began. Yagura proceeded and attacked Mei. Unfortunately for Mei she was stuck on the defensive. She barely dodged the staff as Yagura made several lightning fast swings. Tetsu jumped forward with his tanto raised to stop the next attack, while Hayashi and Hiroshi were moving to flank Yagura. Their plan did not work as Yagura was still able to swing through Tetsu's blade and two of his chakra tails slapped the other two swordsmen away.

"Kami damn it that hurts." Hiroshi yelped.

"I know what it feels like Hiro... I really do." Hayashi shouted to the man. The both were able to react fast enough and dodge a swing going to stick their heads into the ground. Tetsu threw a hail of shuriken at Yagura so the two swordsmen could back up. Luckily, they followed Tetsu's plan. Both swordsmen jumped away from the Kage.

"**Raiton: Gian!**" Tetsu yelled. From his hand, a spear of lightning shot at Yagura and by some incredible luck, it hit the pink-eyed Mizukage. The chakra-clad Mizukage stumbled back as he held his shoulder in pain.

"**Raiton: Shichu Shibari!**" Hiroshi shouted. Four pillars of stone shot from the ground, surrounding the jinchuuriki, and lighting shot at Yagura from each pillar. A roar of pain came from the Mizukage as he dropped his staff and gathered a dangerous amount of demonic chakra.

Back some distance, Naruto shakily stood on two feet while holding the transformed Susanoo. Feeling his strength returning, Naruto grinned and dashed back to the fight, all while still keeping bankai active.

"It'll take more than **this to hold me!**" Yagura roared as he began to transform.

"**Lava Release: Lava Geyser!**" Mei shouted, underneath the Mizukage, a geyser of lava shout up and covered Yagura. Once the dust settled, it revealed a very large three tailed turtle like creature.

**"Die Rebel scum!" **Sanbi-Yagura roared as it shot several giant water balls at the group. All of them jumped and were unfortunately met by a strong smack by a tail. Then Naruto finally returned to the battle with Susanoo in hand.

"**First Strike: Storm Cyclone**!" Naruto raised his sword to the sky while charging reiyoku into it and slashed down, releasing all of the reiyoku stored. From the sky, the colossal sword slashed the turtle's shell and created a vicious cyclone upon the transformed Yagura. The storm became slightly calmer afterwards.

**"UUWWAAAHHHHHH"** A monstrous scream of pain came from the giant turtle as it wailed about. The biju now had hundreds of small cuts on its shell. Naruto quickly settled into a defensive position to prepare for a retaliation. Then Susanoo glowed, and so did Naruto. A giant warrior of reiatsu was being formed as Naruto's reiatsu increased, while the Sanbi was charging up a purple ball. Naruto's eyes widened as he pumped more energy into the warrior, armour and shield being formed.

"Everyone get back!" Naruto shouted as the other four jumped back behind the blonde.

**"BIJUDAMA"** The biju swallowed the ball and shot it forward as the blue samurai-like entity finished forming. Instead of shooting through the energy being, it was stopped the moment it touched the warrior's shield and created a giant blast. A crater was made right in front of Naruto's defense. Finding the will to continue fighting, Naruto flashed and began an offensive against the Mizukage. Slash, slash, dodge, slash. These motions were repeated as Naruto attacked. Whenever Naruto got hit, he would quickly hop onto his feet at continue fighting.

"**Second Strike: Lightning Strike!**" Once again, Naruto raised his sword and slashed downward, the giant warrior mimicking the blonde. Then many bolts of lightning struck the biju, never letting up until over twenty bolts shot from the sky. At this point the reinforcements had finally finished healing the others and joined the fight. Sanbi-Yagura thrashed about, waving it's three tails and attacking as many rebels as possible. Shock waves were created and blasted many Rebels away, as well as several giant water missiles. Then Naruto fell onto one knee and panted heavily.

_"Naruto, you might have to switch to chakra soon. You're getting pretty low for reiyoku..."_ Susanoo warned his wielder.

_"I'll be fine for now..."_ Naruto mentally replied to his zanpakuto, faintly hearing something that seemed like "Baka" from his mindscape. Standing up, Naruto pointed his blade at the giant turtle and began gathering as much reiyoku as he possibly could in his bankai state. Then he pointed the tip of Susanoo towards the turtle and began an incantation.

"**Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders.**" Many large pink orbs of energy formed around Naruto. The reinforcements continued the seemingly hopeless battle, trying to survive. So many ninja were thrown around like nothing, and every jutsu used seemed to have little effect on the turtle.

"**Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired.**"

"**Hado 91: Senju Koten Taiho!"**

Every pink ball was shot off at the giant turtle, colliding and making a massive explosion of pink energy. Shortly after Naruto fell onto one knee, letting his Bankai deactivate. He was heavily panting, and out of energy, or at least spiritual energy. He was able to stand and walk over to his other comrades even with his injuries, but not far enough has he fell after a few steps.

_"Some broken ribs, bruises cuts and a lot of other things... I'm fine in a bit. But damn that was a strong stab to the gut."_ Naruto mentally assessed the extent of his injuries, but he received four mental slaps on the head, due to his spirits.

**_"Don't be a baby, ribs grow__ back." _**Yami mentally said to Naruto, also receiving a few slaps.

Looking into the smoke, Naruto and the ninja of the Rebel faction saw a shadow of Yagura's figure.

"Dear Kami help us all..." Tetsu mumbled to himself as he stared in shock. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a badly injured Yagura with blood staining most of his clothes and dripping from his mouth. Then the Mizukage collapsed.

Slowly letting the now unconscious Naruto sit, Hiroshi sent a clone to investigate.

"Hello there Yagura." Hiroshi's clone said.

"I take it you... are of the Rebel faction?" Yagura barely spoke out and received a nod. "Pass on a message to Mei for me... I do not have much time..." Seeing another nod, Yagura then relayed the message.

"Beware... of... ancient... ringan..." Yagura said in between coughs. Slowly his life seeped away as he passed on the message. Hiroshi nodded and laid the Mizukage down to his peace. The clone then dispelled and Hiroshi stumbled as he regained the memories.

"What's the matter Hiro?" Hayashi asked.

"Mei-san, Yagura had a message." The leaf ninja said.

"Well, please tell me the message." Mei said hiding her impatience as the war was seemingly over.

"I could only make out this. Beware of the ancient ...ringan. I believe that the last bit is supposed to be the Sharingan dojutsu. Not sure why he'd say that." Hiroshi explained. Mei only nodded as she was deep in thought.

_"Ancient Sharingan... That's the Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai... Who could be connected to this?"_ The woman thought. Then she sighed.

"Regardless, we should bury Yagura somewhere and tell our forces the news." Mei said. "Someone get Naruto-kun over there." She ordered. Hiroshi lazily picked the boy up and then walked back to base.

**-One Week Later, Rebel Faction Base-**

One week has passed since the last battle of the war. Everyone was on a speedy recovery and most were fine after a few days of rest. Naruto was healing quite well compared to most people, he was already able to walk freely, but still had his entire chest bandaged. Then everyone head towards the meeting room for an announcement.

"Last week, we had one last battle." Mei began. "We suffered many loses, and the lives lost will always be remembered." Mei paused as a moment of silence was given.

"However, we were able to defeat Yagura! The Bloodline War is finally over after so many months!" Mei exclaimed, and received many cheers.

"I would like Yamashita Hiroshi and Naruto of the Leaf to come up now." The woman said.

"Without the both of you, we may not have been able to win this war. On behalf of everyone here I would like to thank you for your aid." Mei said. Naruto shifted nervously under so many eyes, while Hiroshi slapped him on the back, much like Ao would to Chojuro.

"Baka, we're heroes, have some pride." Hiroshi whispered to his partner who was tending his injured back.

"You will always be welcomed to Kiri as allies." Mei finished.

"Everyone, we will be staying here until everyone is fully healed, then we'll return to Kiri to tell the people there the news." She shouted to the crowd, with many happy cheers the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Naruto, Hiroshi and Mei.

"I can not thank you two enough. You've helped us so much." The busty woman bowed to the two leaf ninja.

"It's nothing Mei-" Naruto was cut off as the beauty walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. Naruto had a blank stare while holding his left cheek, trying not to blush a storm. It failed when Hiroshi whispered some unnecessary comments into his ear.

"Kukuku... Finally gaki, gonna take it to the next level soon are ya?" Hiroshi whispered to the blonde boy, who looked much like an apple now. The man received a boot to the foot for the comment.

"Damn gaki too strong for your own good." Hiroshi mumbled as he left.

**-A Few Days Later-**

"Well I suppose this is it Mei-chan?" Naruto asked.

"It seems so. I want to hear from you soon." Mei said as she grabbed the blonde into a hug and kissed the blonde on the cheek. Naruto and Mei could have sworn they heard a perverted giggle off in the distance.

"And I as well. We'll se-" Naruto snapped out of his daze and released the busty woman, but was cut off as he heard a crowd coming.

"DAMN IT KID! IF YOU'RE GONNA LEAVE AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL US SO WE CAN SEE YOU OFF!" Tetsu shouted as he ran to the entrance.

"Y-yeah. It would have been nice you know." Chojuro said in a quite voice.

"Sorry sorry. I'll remember for next time." Naruto said with a sheepish grin.

"Pray there isn't another war like this bastard... And tell Zabuza to get his ass over here next time you see him." Hayashi warned.

"Gaki we better go now." Hiroshi called out in a gruff voice.

"Bastard I'm coming! Well I'll see you guys again someday!" Naruto shouted as he waved goodbye. Then with a flash Naruto disappeared to catch up to his partner.

"About time. Look gaki, we've been gone for like 15 months, I'm sure the Hokage won't mind if we take our sweet time back." Hiroshi said, receiving a hesitant nod from a sweatdropping blonde.

**-Five Days Later, Konoha East Gate-**

"Kami this is so boring!" A ninja whined as he sat at a table filing out papers with his partner.

"Just shut up Hayate. Your screaming now will make things much more painful for you afterwards." The ninja's partner said.

"Hey, I think I see two people coming Genma." A sixteen year old Hayate whispered to his partner.

"Oh gee whiz. I did not see them." The now known Genma said with utter sarcasm.

"Hey, I think... Yeah I know him... HEY NARUTO!" Hayate shouted after recognizing one of the people coming.

"Again, shut up. Get the papers ready." Genma reminded his partner, and with haste Hayate pulled out a stack of papers and began searching.

"Welcome back you two. Hoep you don't mind if we get your names..." Genma drawled out.

"Yamashita Hiroshi and the gaki here is Naruto." The tall man replied gruffly.

"Hayate, your done in an hour right?" Naruto asked, and received a nod.

"Aha! Here they are. Just sign your names. Oh and Naruto, Yugao, Sasuke and Sayuri will flip when they know your back." Hayate said lightheartedly.

"Ri- right... Tell them to go to the park when your done." Naruto stuttered as he tried to think of ways to avoid being teased. His blush was growing slightly, and everyone saw this. However only Hiroshi commented on this.

"So gaki, who's the lucky lady? Or is it Mei back in Kiri?" He joked as he attempted to dodge a foot to the face.

"Baka... let's go report..." Naruto said as he dragged his partner inside the village.

**-Hokage's Tower-**

"Hokage-sama. More paperwork for you." The secretary came in with a very tall stack of papers and quickly left. Minato gave a heavy sigh as he stared at the never ending hell before him. Then he felt two presences at the door.

"Come in!" The Hokage called out. The door opened and revealed a man with short brown hair around his mid thirties and an adolescent boy with blonde hair and red streaks.

"Hokage-sama. The long term mission to aid the Rebel faction of Kiri has been accomplished." Both ninja shouted as they stood in attention.

"I see, please report." The Hokage ordered. So Naruto decided to begin by telling the Hokage of what occurred for the first eight months, then Hiroshi took over for the remaining six months of the war.

"I see. Very well then, you too will receive your mission pay in the ANBU headquarters as usual. Dismissed." Minato said as he returned to the vicious battle between Kage and paperwork, and sadly the paperwork is winning by a very large margin.

"Gaki, let's go get our pay." Hiroshi said with a gruff voice.

"Yeah sure, I'll see you later." Naruto said as his figure faded into nothingness.

"Bloody showoff..." Hiroshi mumbled as he disappeared in a plume of smoke.

**-Apartment 247-**

After getting his pay of over 3 million ryo, Naruto appeared in his apartment. Luckily he told the manager about his mission two years ago, so he didn't have to pay too much to keep the room. It seemed a lot cleaner than Naruto expected it to be.

_"Yugao and Itachi must have cleaned it every now and then."_ Naruto mused as he knew that Hayate would not have cleaned it out of the goodness of his heart.

Naruto then unsealed everything he had and left them on the table and did a few stretches. The blonde kept his three zanpakuto strapped to his belt however. They are some things he would always have on him. It just felt natural. Naruto then went to take a shower, change, and later get something to eat.

**-1 Hour Later, Park-**

"Why did you call us here Hayate-nii?" A twelve year old Sasuke asked.

"Someone's coming back to visit!" Hayate chirped vaguely.

"This better be good Hayate..." Yugao said in a dangerous tone, the other swordsman paling immediately.

"N-no. Of course it's good." Hayate said as he regained colour and continued. "And if I'm right about this, it'll be _really _good for you Yugao." The swordsman smirked as the purple haired girl blushed at the possible insinuations.

"So... what now?" Sayuri joined in, while Itachi was sitting at the bench twirling a stick in his fingers.

"Now..." Hayate paused for a dramatic effect. "We wa-"

"Heya guys!" Another voice interrupted Hayate's dramatic conclusion. Everyone turned to the direction fo the voice and widened their eyes. A very familiar blonde had returned. This time he had three swords on him and Yugao drooled slightly. Not just because of the swords but because of the blonde's body as well.

"Um... Guys?" The blonde nervously called out, trying to snap everyone out of their daze.

* * *

Well, that's all. Man that was a long chapter. I still feel that I did rather poorly on Susanoo's bankai, and Yagura's fight. Just in case you were wondering, the **"Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi"** was not a technique for the bankai, more of the title of the new sword. In Japanese mythology, it was also called the Kusanagi no Tsurugi/Grasscutter Sword.

So what did you think? Feedback on Susanoo's Bankai will be most helpful. Constructive criticism please! Read, follow, review?


	10. Ch 10 Revelations and New Paths

A/N: TO HELL WITH IT! I'm sorry but I've decided against having four or more girls in the pairing, simply because I have no idea how to make it fit into the story. It will be a small pairing, such as two or three girls max, but it's not going to have more than 3 girls with Naruto. Well it's a shorter chapter this time as I'm transitioning from the Bloodline War to the Wave Arc, along with the skips in between.

**batted(Guest)**: Well I'm glad to know that some people really enjoy my story so far XD. But I do try to update often.

**Shadowprice:** I haven't planned that far, but I can tell you that he will forgive the twins eventually.

**Marie(Guest)**: Well I was debating on not having Yugao in Naruto's harem to be with Hayate, so thanks for the suggestion. Also for the shogi and day off thing, I've read the fanfiction and I did not know that it was already in another story, so don't take it as me stealing someone's work. 'The Lives Worth Saving' is a really good fic, so if you haven't already, I suggest giving it a read.

**ncpfan**: Well, I elaborated more on Naruto's relationship with his family more in this chapter, though I'm sure that I messed something up. Kushina does remember him, but Naruto was very quiet as a child, while the twins were overly energetic, therefore Kushina keeps her focus on the twins more often then not. Minato was angry because he would've had someone strong carry on the clan name, and someone to help him train the twins as he is Hokage. Other reasons can be thought of as well. As for Kushina, its not that she didn't recognize his face, but she didn't see his face.

**Junky:** Hayate was most definitely teasing Yugao when he asked her out, however I didn't like the way it came out so I changed it to a way that Hayate would express his growing affection for Yugao. They were together in the canon and I wanted to keep things that way. Sorry about making it bug you so much.

**HouseMD93**: Remember, Naruto used his bankai after much of the fighting, so he did waste some of his spiritual energy. Yes he does have enough energy but no he doesn't have enough control as of yet to make some sort of Ultimate form of Susanoo. I'm not implying that he will get one or anything, but I'm just explaining. When I do another fic, then I'll just keep it at one zanpakuto to keep things simple.

**dbzsotrum9**: Eh this is fanfiction, and either one will be used. Yes Minato and Kushina do care for Naruto more then the average person, mainly as an heir seeing as he is the only male child. And thank you the pairing suggestions, but I'm going to keep it small, three people tops.

**leseras**: Thanks for the comment and I did elaborate more on the family relationship in this chapter, only briefly if you want my opinion. And Yes I fixed the Bankai thing, thank you for pointing that out.

** 55**:I want to say yes that Kushina will try to mend their relationship in the future, at least to the point that they are on good terms, but not quite together like a family.

**Schwarzer Lowe**: Thank you for pointing that out, I went back and fixed those in chapter 8 and 9. Now I have do do it for the rest of the chapters.

**KillerDonut**: As of now, I'm thinking of having Naruto with three girls, four would be really stretching it. And seeing the ending is a rather long way off.

**rivereagles999**: Naruto will be the only one with Shinigami powers so no worries. If I do things right there can possibly be Hollows by the time the 4th Shinobi War comes around. As for the conflict part, at this point I will say that it will happen slowly as the twins' views of Naruto change.

**Dusk666**: I'd like to think that the Kusanagi no Tsuguri that Orochimaru and Sasuke have in canon are imitations of the one from Japanese mythology.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 10 Revelations and New Paths  
**

* * *

"Um... Guys?" The blonde nervously called out. Everyone was snapped out of their thoughts. Then Hayate shouted.

"Naruto! What the hell? You interrupted my dramatic ending and Yugao here was three steps from castrating me!" The brown haired boy shouted and anger. The now revealed Naruto walked towards the group, everyone but Hayate and Itachi still in shock.

"It's not my fault. So, you guys just gonna stare at where I was?" Naruto jokingly said.

"Naruto-nii!/Naruto!" Yugao rushed and tackled Naruto into a crushing hug as the Uchiha twins ran over and joined the hug as well.

"It's been a while guys!" Naruto said. Then he heard Yugao crying into his chest.

"Baka! I missed you..." She said hiding her tears.

"Shh... I missed you too Yugao." Naruto whispered kindly into her ear, while the girl dug her face in the blonde's chest to hide her blush.

"It's been a while Naruto-kun." Itachi greeted.

"Still as monotone as ever? You need a girlfriend soon." Naruto jokingly said, while the Uchiha had a very, very light pink tint on his cheeks.

"So tell us, what was your first war like?" Hayate said, more serious than before.

"Well to sum it up, I can see why Itachi is such a pacifist." Naruto said in a tone that Hayate knew all too well, a tone that had a hidden message saying "Not now...".

"Care for music anyone? Just because I was at a war doesn't mean I didn't play for the last year." Naruto said as everyone snapped their attention to the blonde as he unsealed his violin. Holding it with great care, Naruto positioned his violin and picked up the bow. Naruto gracefully began to play the violin and was instantly absorbed into the music. Happy music flowed throughout the park that afternoon as Naruto drew a crowed yet again. Funny thing was that most of the clan heirs from Sasuke's and Sayuri's year were there as well. There were the heirs of the Inuzaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans, and the heiress of the Yamanaka clan. Naruto already sensed the Namikaze family there in the crowd, but after just returning from a war he did not care at all. All he wanted to do was relax with some of his friends without the need to hide several dozen kunai in his sleeves.

"Hey Sasuke, who's this?" A boy with a small white puppy on his head asked.

"Oh hey Kibbles. That's a friend of my nii-san, Naruto." Sayuri answered with a giggle as the puppy jumped into the girl's arms. The puppy barked in happiness.

"Naruto. He sorta looks like the Ho-" A pleasantly plump boy said, but was interrupted as Sasuke slapped his hand over the boy's mouth.

"Shut up Choji. Naruto-nii isn't on the best terms with the Hokage's family." Sasuke warned his classmate. Choji gave a nod as he returned to eating his chips when Sasuke released his mouth.

"Sugoi! He's so cute and so good!" A girl with blonde hair squealed, who unfortunately was a fangirl of a certain boy in her class.

The people in the crowd where having different thoughts, but most revolved around thoughts like "He's really good." or "Wonder where he's been" and some were even "I wonder if he's still single". The Namikaze were talking amongst each other about their thoughts.

"Tou-san, kaa-san. He looks like nii-san" A redhead by the name of Natsuki asked as she hugged her mother. The blonde twin named Kasumi nodded with her sister as she hugged her father.

"Mhmm... Let's talk to him later." Minato said as he stroked Kasumi hair, not too worried about the situation.

Naruto was still playing his violin after about half an hour. His hands were simply playing what his feelings were, as if they were conveying a message through the violin. Naruto's thoughts were on a beautiful russet haired woman from Kiri he had come to know. The atmosphere was cheery, loving, and a hint of sadness here and there, not that anyone noticed. Everyone was too busy letting their spirits be lifted and their worries tossed aside. Naruto ended his final song for the day as he was beginning to feel tired.

"Heh, sorry guys. That's all for today." Naruto rubbed his neck sheepishly as he announced that to the crowd. While many of them were disappointed about not being able to hear more of the music, most were still very satisfied. Then when the crowd was dispersing, Naruto, Yugao, Hayate, Itachi and the Uchiha twins were left sitting at the park table. Soon after the Namikaze family approached them, or more specifically the blonde. Everyone with Naruto knew not to interrupt the coming argument.

"Naruto, why?" The Hokage began.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate." Naruto said to the family.

"Why did you leave us?" Kushina asked with her impatience rising.

"Hokage-sama, I'm sure you've re-evaluated our relations together in the past." Naruto said, receiving a nod from the blonde Fire Shadow. "Very well then, it seems that I should explain it this time. But first, I'll ask. Why do _you_ want me back?" The younger blonde continued.

"One, we're your parents. Two, you're the heir of the Uzumaki Namikaze Clan, and three, so we can be a family again." Minato answered.

"Yeah! You can't just leave like you did, ninja or not!" Kushina shouted, adding her two ryo.

"Well let's see. I cut all ties to your family, therefore I'm not the heir. As for the family part, we weren't much of a family after the twins were five anyways. Minato, you've taught me next to nothing, but while I thank you guys for the few moments that we had as a true family, I can not forgive you. You shoo'd me off like a pest for the twins. I understand that you may have felt it necessary to help the twins because of the Kyuubi's chakra, it doesn't mean completely forget about me. You could have donated a minute of your life, just to say "Hello" or "How was your day"." Naruto then paused to take a breath and continued.

"Not only did you push me aside like a pest, you and the rest of the Namikaze family started treating me like a stranger to the family, and at times a slave even. I just wanted to be viewed as a brother and son to my own family! Adding to that, when you taught the twins, you didn't even humble the twins while you trained them, and now their overly arrogant." Naruto stopped as he braced for the coming protests.

"HEY! WE'RE NOT ARROGANT! AS THE HEROES OF KONOHA AND THE NAMIKAZE TWINS WE DESERVED EVERYTHING!" Both of the Namikaze twins shouted, while the Uchiha twins facepalmed, and Hayate held his ears in pain.

"LIES! I did teach you well." Minato roared in anger.

"Oh really. What did you teach me?" Naruto inquired, leaving Minato in thought. "That's right, you taught me hand-seals and what chakra was. Then you gave me a book on chakra control and things that I would already learn in the academy and left me to figure things out. I don't really care that you barely taught me anything, but the fact that you just pushed me away doesn't sit well. I'm where I am now not because of _your _family, but thanks to people that didn't even personally know you, like my friends here." Naruto rebuked. Then Naruto turned to Kushina.

"And you! You are worse than him! You did absolutely nothing! You followed everything Minato did like a fangirl! Once Minato shifted his attention, you did the exact same, only much faster. Was it all because of the toads' _prophecy_?" Minato and Kushina gasped. How did he know about the prophecy of the Elder Toads? The twins were pondering on what prophecy they were talking about.

"Tou-san, what prophecy is he talking about? It sounds important!" Kasumi asked her father, receiving a quiet "Not now".

"Finally there are the twins themselves. I remember years ago that I swore to do anything to protect them. That was when they were kind to everyone. Then after being given everything, they let it get to their heads, and now they're arrogant, thinking their name will get them anything. While I do not hate your family, I want nothing to do with you on a personal level. If that is all Hokage-sama I'll be leaving." Naruto ended his rant and walked away. The blonde teen's friends left as well, leaving the infuriated family of the Namikaze.

**-Elsewhere in Konoha-  
**

"Naruto!" The blonde heard someone shout for him from behind and turned to see Hayate running to him.

"What's up?" Naruto asked his best friend. Hayate then blushed and said something really fast, and Naruto only caught "On a date."

"Slowly Hayate, breathe." Naruto said. A few moments later Hayate regained his breathe.

"How should I ask Yugao-chan on a date?" The swordsman said with a blush.

"Oh hoho! So your finally doing it?" Hayate blushed as Naruto continued. "First you can hide the smut." Naruto said as Hayate sheepishly laughed.

"You haven't confessed your feelings to her did you?" Naruto said and received a "No".

"Well be a romantic. Yugao loves stargazing right? Well do something like tell her to meet you on top of the Hokage Monument at nightfall." Naruto suggested. Hayate was frozen in place for a few seconds, then gave Naruto a bone crushing hug.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! BYE!" Hayate shook the blonde and disappeared faster than Naruto's flash step.

"Huh. Good luck Hayate... Wonder what else happened while I was gone." Naruto said to the wind and left to publish his new book.

**-Publishing Building-**

Unfortunately, it had taken a while for Naruto to find where the publisher was, so he got the information off of Jiraiya. It turns out that there was no sign on the outside of the building, and Naruto had walked by it a few times. Going it, it was a simply place. It had a secretary and to the side a few small working spaces. Nothing fancy but it was most likely a great publishing company.

"Hello there. I'd like to get a book published." Naruto said to the secretary.

"You know we have high expectations right? You seem like a new face at writing." The woman said.

"Gotta try sometime." Naruto replied. The woman smiled as she took the pages from the blonde. Quickly reading the first page, she looked up and smiled.

"Well, it seems pretty good. I'll send it to the editor later. May I ask for your name?" The woman said.

"Naruto." The blonde replied. The woman nodded and filled out the required form and placed it on top of Naruto's book and had someone send it to an editor.

"Well that's all. You can come back in a month or two to check up on your story." The woman said and Naruto gave a quick thank you and left.

**-Three Months Later-**

Naruto had just got off ANBU duty and was now walking back to his apartment.

_"How long has it been since I left my book there? Three months?"_ Naruto thought to himself, and then decided to go to the publishing building. Walking by an alley, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Inside a dango shop, Hayate and Yugao were together on a date it seems. Naruto grinned like a fox. _"It seems he actually pulled it off."_ Naruto mentally patted himself on the back for giving the advice.

_"I wonder if Hayate's gonna pop the question an a year or two. At least their doing well. I wonder how's Mei-chan..."_ Naruto's thoughts shifted to the russet haired woman as he walked to the building.

**-Somewhere in Kirigakure-**

A beautiful russet haired woman sat at a desk, viciously signing all sorts of paper work. She then dropped her pen and sneezed.

"Achoo!"

"Hopefully you're not coming down with a cold Mei-sama." A body guard said.

Wiping her nose with a tissue, she then went into thought.

_"Someone must be talking about me... Maybe it's Naruto-kun"_ The woman thought as she returned to her paperwork.

**-Publishing Building-**

"Oh Hello there Naruto-san. What can I do for you?" The secretary asked.

"Not much Mai-san. Just dropped in to check how far the editor's through my book." Naruto replied to the secretary.

"Well, he's actually just shipped a copy to an agent. Chances are you'll see it in the market in a month or two, statistics come back a few months after." Mai answered the blonde.

"Thanks again Mai-san!" Naruto waved good bye and left.

**-Few Months Later-**

Naruto had already seen his book in many stores several times. He even bought a copy of his book to read on his spare time, and sent a signed copy of Loveless to Mei in Kiri. Even the Hokage had a copy on his desk. However, the statistics shocked everyone. The editor was slightly surprised, Mai was quite surprised, and Naruto fainted after reading his statistics. His single book beat the first two Icha Icha books in less than four months, and there were only four Icha Icha novels as of now. Naruto remembered the day vividly, he had a very big grin for several days after.

**-Flashback-**

Naruto was sitting on a chair in the building, waiting for Mai to get the editor who had the statistics for Naruto's book "Loveless". He then heard some voices coming.

"What's the rush Mai?" A man said.

"Oh come on, Naruto-san and I want to see the statistics and you have them. I read the first page and I thought it was amazing!" A voice belonging to Mai came. Then two people came from a hallway. The first was Mai, a short girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes. Mai wore a simple red dress. Then came another man. He had darker skin than most people in Konoha, and was very tall. He had black pants and and boots. He wore a white dress shirt but no tie, had a scar near his eye and short black hair.

"I take it you are Naruto then?" Then man said as Naruto stood up and nodded.

"I'm Egil. Nice to meet you kid." The now known Egil gave Naruto a firm handshake.

"So about the statistics..." Egil said as he flipped a page. "You're going to be pleasantly surprised Naruto." Egil then flipped the first page and handed Naruto the booklet. The statistics show that "Loveless" beat the sales of both "Icha Icha Paradise" and "Icha Icha Violence", the first two books of the Icha Icha series. Naruto's book had more sales than those two books in less than 6 months. That was a lot.

"A- Amazing!" Mai stuttered out. Egil nodded in agreement. Shortly after they heard a "Thud" and saw Naruto lying on the ground.

"Must be the shock. I wonder how many figures he'll get in his account." Egil chuckled. About 10 minutes after, Naruto regained conciousness with a silly grin plastered on his face.

"I wonder how many sales I'll get after a year." Naruto grinned as he thought of the figures he would get in his account.

**-End Flashback-  
**

The rest of Naruto's time in the ANBU was much like that. Doing missions, teasing Yugao and Hayate, running away from fangirls, nothing out of the ordinary.

* * *

***Year 13***

* * *

**-ANBU HQ-**

"Sir." Ryu stood in attention before his Commander.

"Thank you for coming Ryu. Now I've called you hear to talk about you as a ninja. Since you've done your first three years in the ANBU, you must return to whatever rank you were before for at least three years before you can rejoin the ANBU Corps. Mental health and everything." The Commander said.

"Please take off your mask." The man spoke. Ryu sighed and took off the mask he had come to know and held it with care, wondering when will be the next time he will use it.

"Remember Naruto-san. You may no longer be an ANBU for now, but you are always family." The commander said.

"Thank you sir. It has been an honour working with you." Naruto replied.

"Ah, the honour was mine Naruto-san. You were one of the greatest I've ever seen. You may leave now." The commander dismissed the blonde who left while looking at his mask.

"Gaki, can't believe you've been here for three years already. You plan on taking a genin team?" Shark appeared and questioned the blonde.

"Nah not really." Naruto answered.

"Well you've got time to think. See ya some other time kid." And the Shark left, and Naruto's form vanished out of existence.

**-Apartment 247-**

Naruto appeared in his apartment and placed the mask on a table. Naruto then went to his room and got changed. Coming out he had ANBU style pants and black ninja sandals. He wore a utility belt with several pouches and his zanpakuto strapped on the left side of the belt. He wore a flak jacket which was opened, revealing a dark blue shirt with the kanji of 'Guardian' in the center. Naruto also wore his black hitae-ate on his forehead. As Naruto walked out of his room, he glanced at the calender he had hung up on beside the door.

"Saturday, end of the week. Great, jonin meeting..." Naruto mumbled as he then turned his gaze to the clock.

"Even better it's now..." Naruto said to himself as he left with his signature shunshin.

**-Hokage's Office-**

Inside the office was Minato at his desk with piles of paperwork. In front of the kage were the jonin of the village. There was Anko, Hayate, Yugao, Itachi, Kurenai, Asuma, and some other jonin. Even Kakashi was there, but only because Minato tricked the silver scarecrow into coming early.

"Th-" Minato was interrupted as a blade shade appeared and revealed a sheepishly grinning Naruto.

"Sorry. I hope I'm not late or anything." Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"We were just started, thanks for arriving after Kakashi..." Minato replied. "Anyways, we are here to discuss the new genin teams. The graduates of the academy are as follows." Minato read off the names of the graduates as must people stood not really paying attention and hoping not to take a genin team.

"Would anyone like to take a team?" Minato asked after reading the list, then Asuma stepped forward.

"I would like to lead a team consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru for the next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho team." He stated. Looking around the room, the Hokage saw that no one was going to object and granted the requested team.

"Very well then. Asuma will be leading Team 10 with the requested graduates." Minato said as he crossed off three names, and Kurenai stepped forward.

"I would like to lead Hyuga Hinata, Inuzaka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. The three would work well together to create a tracker team." Kurenai declared. Once again no one objected and Minato granted the team and crossed off the names.

Then both Kakashi and Itachi stepped forward. Both of them saw this and the scarecrow chuckled as Itachi stepped back to let Kakashi speak.

"I would like to lead Uchiha Sasuke and Sayuri and Haruno Sakura. I can help teach the Uchiha twins to use their Sharingan. In the reports, it states that Sakura is well suited as a genjutsu user or a medic nin after she is broken out of her fangirl-ish habits." Kakashi stated and then Itachi stepped forward.

"My reasons for taking the same team as Kakashi are for the very same reasons." Itachi said.

"I suppose neither of you are willing to back down?" Minato said and received two shakes in the negative. Minato was left thinking of possible ways to fix this issue. Then the man sighed.

"Very well then. Kakashi will be officially leading Team 7 consisting of said graduates. Understood?" Minato said.

"Hokage-sama. May I be allowed to join Team 7 for training sessions since I can help Sasuke and Sayuri use their Sharingans properly." Itachi inquired.

"Yes you may do so with Kakashi's permission, however you go on missions with Team 7, as you are not official a part of that team." The Hokage answered. Itachi nodded and the two Sharingan users returned to their places.

"Team 6 will consist of Sai, Namikaze Kasumi and Natsuki under Tenzo. Tenzo's abilities let him subdue the twins should the Kyuubi's chakra go berserk. Any objections?" Minato inquired but saw that no one was going to speak and crossed the names off and wrote the new Team was how the remainder of the meeting went as the Hokage grouped the graduates in groups of three by their abilities and the reports.

* * *

**-Next Week, Academy-  
**

* * *

All of the genin graduates have gathered back into the academy room to get their teams. (A/N: Canon characters look exactly as they do in part 1, sorry I can't describe anything too well.)

Sayuri was a bit shorter than Sasuke, the girl stood at 4'11. She looked like a carbon copy of her mother Mikoto and had fair skin. The girl wore a dark purple t-shirt covering her B-cup bust with the Uchiha crest on the back and white shorts. She had some pouches holding her equipment as well. Like Sasuke she also had arm warmers and blue ninja sandals.

On the other side of the room was Kasumi and Natsuki. Kasumi had a bang over her right eye and her blonde hair was in a bun. She had blue eyes and wore a white v-neck shirt and a navy blue skirt over black shorts. She had a kunai pouch by her waist, and wore the normal dark blue ninja sandals.

Natsuki on the other hand had red hair with blonde streaks. Her hair was in the same style as her mother Kushina's, and she also had blue eyes. Unlike her sister, she opted to wear mesh armour underneath a dark red skirt and a purple shirt. Her kunai pouch was on her waist along with another supply pouch and she wore tall black ninja sandals.

Sai was, well Sai. He had a black t-shirt, black pants, several pouches by his waist and a tanto on his back. He also had his paint brush and a blank canvas out.

"Welcome back everyone! All of you here are now full fledged genin of Konohagakure no Sato. All of you have changed drastically for the better while you were here." Iruke said as he stood in front of all of the Academy graduates. He then proceeded to give a very long speech, making most people fall asleep, with the exception of Shikamaru who was already sleeping.

About one hour later Iruka had finally finished his speech and proceeded to list the teams.

"Alright then. Team 1 is-" Sasuke and Sayuri stopped paying attention as they waited for their names to be called.

**-Minutes Later-**

"Team 6 is Namikaze Kasumi, Namikaze Natsuki and Sai. Your jonin sensei is Tenzo." The Namikaze twins cheered and gave everyone smug looks.

"Team 7 is Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sayuri, and Haruno Sakura under Hatake Kakashi." The Uchiha twins perked up as they heard their names, while Sakura gave a fangirl-ish screech, causing most to hold their ears in pain.

"Team 8 is Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino and Inuzaka Kiba. Your sensei is Yuhi Kurenai." Kiba hollered as he was at least with people he was friends with. Hinata smiled and Shino remained indifferent, but his kikaichu buzzed.

"Team 9 is still in circulation so we will skip that. Team 10 consists of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino Y-" Iruka was interrupted by a scream.

"HEY! WHY DO I GET A LAZY BUM AND A FATTY?!" Ino screamed.

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Iruka shouted, the blonde girl immediately complied. "Now if you don't like your teams, take it up with the Hokage... Anyways. Team 10's sensei is Sarutobi Asuma. Your senseis will be here in an hour." Then Iruka left to left the new genin talk amongst each other.

**-One Hour Later-**

After an hour the door opened and then three people walked in. The first one was a man with short brown hair and a face guard for his headband. The second person was a woman with long black hair, red eyes, and a blouse with mesh underneath. The third person walked in was a tall man with generic jonin equipment, a sash across his waist with the kanji of "Fire", and was smoking.

"Team 6, meet me at training ground 6 in five minutes." The first person said as he left.

"Aww. We get some creepy looking dude." Kasumi whined loudly but left with her team anyways.

"Te-" The woman was interrupted as a tall silver haired man who was reading an orange book arrived being dragged by a shorter male with black hair and eyes.

"Mah mah Itachi-san. I still have three hours and I was getting to the good part too." The scarecrow said.

"Kami... Our team's here anyways so take them to your training ground." Itachi said as he left. The silver haired jonin stood up and spoke.

"Team 7 is with me. Meet me on the roof top in five minutes." Kakashi said before leaving in a swirl of leaves. Team 7 then rushed out of the door.

"Team 8, follow me to training ground 8." The woman said as her team followed her out.

"Team 10, we'll be heading to Yakiniku Q." The tall jonin said.

After getting their assigned meeting spots, genin scattered and left the class, leaving Iruka to do his paperwork.

**-Team 6-**

"Why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Tenzo. I like walnuts, and architecture. I dislike oily foods and arrogance among some things, and my hobby is mainly reading. As your jonin sensei and team leader, I will avoid ruling with fear," Tenzo paused for a dramatic affect and his expression changed to ghoul-like eyes. "though I have no problem doing so. You with the paint brush can go next.

"I'm Sai. I like to draw. I dislike dick-less and flat-chested people." Sai said with a smile plastered on his face as he returned to his sketches. The Namikaze twins were fuming, how could this random no named kid insult them?!

"Alright then... You with the blonde hair." Tenzo turned to Natsuki.

"I'm Namikaze Kasumi! I like my family, and I dislike Naruto-baka. My hobbies are playing with Kasumi-nee and walking around the village and my dream is to BE HOKAGE!" Nasuki shouted with a fist raised in the air.

"I'm Namikaze Natsuki. My likes, dislikes and hobbies are the same as my nee-chans. My dream is to be a good kunoichi and have a family." Natsuki said with a quieter voice, but still loud.

"Alright then. Now you'll be tested. In m-" Tenzo was cut off in his explanation as the twins shouted.

"WHAT?! WE ALREADY PASSED THE GENIN EXAM!" The twins shouted in unison.

"Sit down now." Tenzo said with a very creepy expression on his face. The twins were frozen in fear and sank down to the ground.

"Now, the Genin exam you just had was to see if you even had the chance as a ninja. This is to see if you have what it takes to be a genin. I have two bells in my hand. You have two hours to get them from me, and the person who doesn't have a bell by the end of this will fail. Test starts now." Tenzo said as Sai got up and the twins scrambled into the trees.

"Sai, why are you still here?" Tenzo asked.

"I already know the meaning of the test, but I can guarantee that the Namikazes don't. Also, if I told them then they would think it's a lie, but if they do believe me, then they won't work with me as I'm a 'random orphan'." Sai explained as he walked to the forest to hide.

**-Team 7-**

Sasuke and Sayuri were able to get on the roof of the academy in just under the five minute mark. Kakashi awaited their arrival still reading his book.

"Where's your other teammate?" Kakashi inquired.

"Probably still on the stairs." Sasuke answered. Kakashi nodded as they decided to wait for Sakura. Three minutes later, the girl appeared.

"Well that's almost 8 minutes. Seems like you need some improvement." Kakashi mused. "Anyways, introduce yourselves."

"Sensei, can you go first, so we know what to say?" Sakura asked.

_"And she's supposed to have top academic marks..."_ Everyone else thought.

"Very well then. I'm Hatake Kakashi, so that's Kakashi-sensei to you three. My likes are my own, and my dislikes are a secret. My hobbies are also a secret and my dream is rather inappropriate for you three." Kakashi said with a perverted giggle at the end.

_"All he gave us was his name..."_ The genin thought.

"Anyways, pinky's next." Kakashi said.

"My name's Haruno Sakura, not pinky. I like a certain boy *blush*. I dislike Ino-pig and my dream is to" She glanced at Sasuke and blushed even further and ended with dreamy eyes.

"Err... Okay then..." Kakashi said. _"Oh joy, a_ _fangirl."_

"I'm Uchiha Sayuri. I like my family, Yugao-nee, Hayate-nii, and Naruto-nii. I dislike arrogant people, sexist people and rapists. My hobbies are training and spending time with my family and friends. My dream is to become a great kunoichi and one day have a family." Sayuri declared.

"Admirable, now emo-boy." Kakashi pointed to Sasuke who gave a very small glare.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. My likes are the same as Sayuri's. I dislike arrogant people, sour foods, and fangirls. My dream is to surpass Itachi-nii-san." Sasuke said.

"Again, admirable. Anyways, we're going to training ground 7 to have a test." Kakashi said.

"A TEST?! WE ALREADY BECAME GENIN!" Sakura screeched.

"If you would stop interrupting me I can explain." Kakashi's lone eye gazed at the pink "ninja". Then the scarecrow continued. "The exam you had here was to see if you even had a chance of becoming a genin. This is to see if you have what it takes to be a genin. I'll see you at training ground 7 in another 5 minutes." Then Kakashi vanished, leaving the genin scrambling to leave.

**-Next Day, Hokage's Office- **(A/N: I won't write what happened for the other two teams or the tests, simply because I'm lazy.)

Once again the jonin gathered before their leader, and this time Naruto got there early.

"I guess it's Kakashi left?" Minato sighed. No matter what he did, he couldn't get his student to be early.

"Anyways, let's here the results." Minato said to the crowd as Kakashi was dragged in by Itachi once more.

"Sorry we're late." Itachi said as he unceremoniously dropped the other jonin who chuckled sheepishly.

"Anyways, the results." Minato sighed again.

"Team 1, failed horribly."

"Team 2, failed."

"Team 3, hospitalization."

"Team 4, failed."

"Team 5, had no chance."

"Team 6, barely passed." Tenzo said.

"Team 7, passed." Kakashi said.

"Team 8 passed." Kurenai added.

"Team 10 passed as well." Asuma finished the list.

"Alright then, please tell me the results of the teams that passed. Tenzo if you would?" Minato said.

"I gave them the traditional bell test. Sai was able to find out the meaning of the test, but gave me reasons why he did not try. Honestly I can agree with him. The Namikaze twins however were unable to find the true meaning of the test. Skill-wise, Sai is high genin already, while the twins are mid genin on there own and high genin when working together. They only passed because Kasumi and Natsuki allowed Sai to help them on the last few minutes, though their teamwork leaves much to be desired." Tenzo evaluated his team's efforts.

"Thank you Tenzo-san. Kakashi?" Minato turned his gaze to Kakashi as Tenzo stepped back.

"My results were similar to Tenzo's. I also gave them the bell test. Sasuke and Sayuri were able to find the meaning of the test after some time so they tried to get Sakura to help them. Sakura however... was absolutely dreadful... The girl was a fangirl and fainted after Sasuke asked her to work with them, and she refused when Sayuri asked her. Sasuke and Sayuri and both mid to high genin level, while Sakura is barely passing academy standards..." Kakashi said.

"Thank you Kakashi, and Itachi-san for bringing him here on time." Minato said as Itachi smiled and the masked pervert stepped back.

"I gave my team a track and capture exercise. Their teamwork was quite well as they were able to find me before the time ran out. Skill wise they are all around mid genin level." Kurenai summed up her teams results. Minato nodded as she stepped back, leaving Asuma.

"I gave my team a simple capture exercise. Shikamaru was able to draw out a plan to use the skills of his teammates and capture me, and they did quite well. Ino is a fangirl unfortunately. Choji is lacking in some aspects of his taijutus, and Shikamaru is just lazy. I believe that they are all around mid genin level." Asuma said.

"Thank you Asuma-san. As jonin senseis, please brief your students on what's required of them as a genin. Dismissed." Everyone soon left the room, leaving Minato and a very tall stack of paperwork. The blonde man stared at the papers with contempt.

"Soon I'll be able to kill you..." Minato said as he eyed the paperwork very dangerously.

**-Elsewhere-**

"So you're gonna be helping Kakashi train his team?" Naruto said.

"Yes I am. You should consider helping some of the other teams too. You might make some more friends." Itachi answered.

"Tch. I only need a few friends, but sure I'll give it a shot. I think I'll start with Gai's team. He's been bugging me about training his students since I got back. Did you know one of his students is like the second coming of him?" Naruto replied.

"The... second coming of Gai?" Itachi stuttered out as a shiver crawled up his spine. He received a nod from his friend.

"Well, I think I'm gonna go get some dango and find Gai. See ya Tachi-nii." Naruto waved goodbye and left.

Naruto then wandered around Konoha for the Dango Shop. Hopefully he could get the owner's name this time. Naruto then went in the restaurant and saw Hayate and Yugao together once again. Then a waitress came to Naruto's table.

"Hello, I'll have some assorted dango please." Naruto said to the waitress.

"Alright then, it'll be a moment." The waitress left, and returned with a platter of assorted dango shortly after. Naruto picked up the first stick and bit a piece of dango and then saw Anko at the door.

"Yo! Bl-" Anko was cut off as Naruto covered her mouth dragged her to his table.

"I think Hayate's on a date with Yugao this time." Naruto whispered.

"Oh joy! Finally some more blackmail material on her!" Anko grinned and tried to swipe a stick of dango, but failed.

"Not this time Anko." Naruto chided the purple haired dango lover. Then he saw Gai walk across the front door, it appears that he was doing one of his crazy regiments and was running around Konoha who knows how may times on his hands.

"Scratch that, enjoy the dango." Naruto slapped some money on the table and chased after Gai.

"Hmm... Oh well. More dango for me!" Anko shrugged and took a stick of Dango.

**-Somewhere in Konoha-**

"891!" Gai shouted as he finished his 891th lap running around Konoha on his hands.

"Gai!" A shout was heard from the distance. Gai turned around to see Naruto running closer.

"Oh Hello Naruto-san! How are you on this most youthful evening?" Gai shouted with youthfulness.

"Quite fine. I'll take up your offer and train with your team. Can you tell me what they specialize in?" Naruto said.

"EXCELLENT! Neji-kun is of the Hyuga clan, so you can expect Taijutsu. Tenten-chan is an aspiring weapons mistress. Lastly my student Lee-kun is a youthful taijutsu user as well!" Gai declared with youthfulness once more.

"Um... Okay then. When and where should I go?" Naruto said.

"Hm... We usually begin our youthful training at 7:00, though Lee and I begin at the youthful time of 6:00 in the morning. You can go to my youthful training ground 9. YOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTH!" Gai finished and sped off on his hands, leaving a sweatdropping Naruto.

"Alright..." Was all Naruto could say as he ran the other way as fast as he could. Naruto looked up and saw that it was already night time.

_"How long was I chasing him?!"_ Naruto mentally asked.

_"A long time, just, please don't ever end up like that." _Amaterasu pleaded her wielder who nodded to the spirit. Then Naruto walked home.

On his way to his apartment, Naruto heard a few moans coming from somewhere close by. Being the curious man he is, Naruto went and investigated, and returned shortly after with a massive blush. It appears that Hayate and Yugao were engaged in a heated make-out session in an alley near Naruto. After getting down his blush, Naruto grinned.

_"Blackmail material is always welcomed Kukuku..."_ The blonde let out an insane chuckle that would have made Orochimaru pale if he wasn't so unnaturally pale as it is. The blonde then continued to walk through the progressively louder moans.

**-Next Day, Training Ground 9-**

"Gai! Where the hell are you?" Naruto called out in the training ground, and then by instinct ducked. A flying Gai sailed over Naruto's head and landed on the ground.

"Yosh! Hello Naruto-san! You are a truly a man of your word!" Gai shouted and gave is signature thumbs up pose, causing Naruto to shiver.

"R-right... So where's your students?" Naruto asked.

"My dear students! Please introduce yourselves to this man!" Gai called out. Shortly after, a green clad boy appeared, along with a girl who resembled a panda, and another boy with long black hair and pale eyes.

"Hello! I am Rock Lee!" Lee gave his own 'nice guy' pose.

"Clearly the second coming of Gai." Naruto mumbled. "Um. I'm Naruto. A pleasure to meet you Lee-kun." Naruto said.

"Hyuga Neji." Neji said with a smug air, similar to many arrogant people.

"I'm Higurashi Tenten! Hey wait... I've seen you at my tou-san's store before. Ten Points Wolf..." Tenten says.

"Yes that's the one. How's Dan these days?" Naruto asked.

"He's the same as always. Say Naruto-san, are you the same Naruto known as the 'Storm Blader of Konoha'?" Tenten inquires. Naruto then pulled out a recent update of the bingo book and flipped to his page.

"Yeah I am." Naruto gave her the book to read.

* * *

**Classification**: S-RANK

**Name**: NARUTO

**Ninja Rank**: Jonin/ANBU

**Aliases**: THE LIVING SHINIGAMI, FLASH MASTER, KONOHA'S STORM BLADER, NARUTO OF THE THREE SWORDS

**Affiliation**: KONOHA

**Description**: Male. Short blonde hair with red streaks. Blue-amethyst eyes. About 5'11 in height. Sometimes wears a mask with dragon design or with two red lines down eye holes(See picture two). Usually wears dark clothing and has three swords on his person.**  
**

**Abilities**:  
NINJUTSU- Is said to have created many of his own techniques, all of them dangerous. Inadvisable to let him use any of his techniques. Also said to have an affinity for Fire, Wind, Water, and Lightning. 9.5/10  
GENJUTSU- Known to be able to cast unbreakable illusions. 9/10  
TAIJUTSU- Created his own style 'Hakuda'. Uses a variety of Taijutsu styles. 9/10  
OTHER FIELDS- Kenjutsu Master, should not combat in Kenjutsu in any circumstance. Near Seal Master level.

**Warnings**: Retreat on sight.

**Other**: His weapons supposedly has special abilities. None are known. When he is seen with his secondary mask (Picture on the right), the sclera of his eyes turn black, and the irises turns yellow. Reasons for this is unknown. Feelings of dread and despair can be felt when using his secondary mask.

**Defeated**: Yagura, Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi, Yondaime Mizukage.

**Bounty(s)**: IWA- 80,000,000 RYO. KUMO- 40,000,000 RYO.

* * *

"SUGOI! You're only like, one of the greatest kenjutsu users there is! THANK YOU GAI-SENSEI!" Tenten squealed in joy as she hugged her sensei who muttered something about people with odd habits.

"Anyways, shouldn't you begin?" Naruto asked the other jonin.

"Actually Naruto-san, can we have a spar?" Lee asked the blonde.

"Of course. Just do your warm ups then we can begin." Naruto said as the three genin rushed off to warm up, eager to spar with the blonde jonin.

"Well they seem enthusiastic." Naruto commented.

"Of course! Word of your youthful abilities goes around the village quickly." Gai said with much enthusiasm.

Shortly after, the three genin returned after finishing their warm ups. Like Naruto had promised, he sparred with each of the genin. He used the Black Leg Style against Lee and Neji to help them fix their flaws. However, Tenten had demanded a kenjutsu spar, and so, Naruto revealed an incomplete version of his **Santoryu** **Style** against the weapons mistress and helped fix some of the holes in her stances. Gai was watching from the sidelines with interest, seeing as how Naruto had used a taijutsu style that wasn't found in Konoha's Library.

"Sugoi... You're really strong Naruto-san." Tenten said as she laid on the grass.

"Indeed, I thank you for the spar." Neji said in an oddly polite manner.

"By the way Naruto-san, what was that Taijutsu style? I've never seen it before." Gai said as the genin gasped.

_"Sugoi! Not even Gai-sensei knows it, I don't remember anything like it from the library either."_Lee thought to himself as he mentally cried tears of joy at the discovery of a new fighting style.

"It's an ancient style, so I wouldn't expect it to be in the library. It's called the "**Black Leg Style**". Basically it focuses on the lower body to protect the arms. Records say that you could even jump multiple times in the air." Naruto explained his fighting style to the group.

"YOSH! IF I CANNOT LEARN ANOTHER TAIJUTSU STYLE, I SHALL CLIMB THE HOKAGE'S MONUMENT 500 TIMES ON MY TEETH!" Lee declared.

"LEE!" Gai shouted as he went down to kneel on one knee. Tenten and Neji quickly turned away to advert their eyes from the coming terror.

"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee returned the chant as he ran up to his sensei and hugged him.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!" Then it happened. Somehow a sunset appeared behind the two taijutsu users and a wave came crashing in. Naruto could only stare in absolute horror as he paled rapidly.

"KAI! KAI DAMN IT!" Naruto tried to release the abomination of a genjutsu, but failed.

"**Hado #1: Sho!**"

Naruto shot two tiny balls of energy at the taijutsu users who were blasted off into the distance.

"I DON'T CARE HOW YOUTHFUL YOU THINK THAT WAS, BUT DON'T EVER DO THAT AROUND ME! If your going to do it, at least go to the T&I and reignite a prisoner's 'Flames of Youth' as you call it. Ibiki would love it." Naruto shouted as the two green clad ninja slowly stood up.

_**"Don't ever let them ever do that again, whatever the hell 'that' was."** _Yami spoke in absolute fear.

_"As much as I never want to see such a thing again, it would be a useful interrogation technique." _Tsukiyomi added.

"Say, can you do anything else? I think that katana is chakra conductive and I was wondering why you didn't channel chakra into it." Tenten said as she took a sip of her water.

"So a demonstration is in order huh." Naruto said with a gleam in his eye. Tenten got overly excited and nodded vigorously while Gai sweatdropped. Naruto then channeled reiryoku into Amaterasu and the blade was engulfed in white flames.

"You may want to stand a couple feet back, or a dozen." Naruto said as he faced away from the genin and positioned his blade. Naruto then stood with his blade around shoulder height, parallel to the ground in his right hand. His left hand was outstretched, as if it was just for appearence.

"**Rising Sun!**" Naruto swung his zanpakuto in a clockwise motion and a wave of white fire erupted from the ground in front of him, going about 20 meters forward. Very quickly after the flames disappeared and Naruto sheathed his katana and turned to find an awestruck genin and three sweating nins.

**-Team 7-**

The three genin of Team 7 arrived at their designated meeting place, but saw two people waiting for them instead of one. The first one was their sensei Kakashi, and the second one had black hair and black eyes, they had recognized him as the person who dragged their sensei to the academy to meet him.

"Isn't that Itachi-nii?" Sayuri asked her twin who nodded.

"Let's hurry then!" Sayuri said with some excitement. Sasuke sighed and followed his sister as they ran to the two jonin waiting for them.

"Oh hello Sasuke-kun, Sayuri-chan. Where's your other teammate?"" The older Uchiha asked as the two pointed backwards, as their teammate appeared.

"Well, glad of you to join us Sakura-san. Anyways, this is Uchiha Itachi. He will be joining our training sessions every now and then, but he won't join us on missions for the most part." Kakashi said.

"Now, today will be just a training day, and then we'll go take a mission or two." Kakashi eye-smiled and continued. "I want everyone here to run around the training ground at least 5 times without stopping, then you will do 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 50 squats. We'll see how you guys do after. You can start now." The scarecrow gave the three their objectives as they went off to run.

"You just wanted more time to read that crap didn't you?" Itachi accused the other jonin as Kakashi continued to read his Icha Icha.

"Why yes of course." Kakashi gave another eye-smile as he admitted his reasons. Itachi sighed as he pulled out a white and grey book and began reading as he sat down.

"What book?" Kakashi asked.

"Loveless. My kaa-san recommended it to me." Itachi said as he kept his eyes glued on the pages, much like Kakashi usually does.

Sayuri and Sasuke were done the warm up a little under 20 minutes, seeing as how the had to run around the entire training ground 5 times, and the place was incredibly large. Sakura took an hour to finish and was completely exhausted.

"Okay then, it seems that we'll have to work on getting your abilities up to par Sakura. Anyways, Sasuke and Sayuri, I want you to spar with each other for a bit. Sakura, stay. We need to talk." Kakashi said as the Uchiha twins went off to spar while Sakura walked towards her sensei.

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei?" The girl asked.

"Sakura, why did you even join the ninja academy? From the looks of it, you don't train, ever." Kakashi said bluntly after closing his book.

"S- sensei... I-" Sakura stuttered out as tears began to form but was interrupted again.

"Sakura, I want you to go home today and think of why you wanted to become a ninja." Kakashi cut in with a stern voice. Sakura only nodded and ran, trying to hide her tears.

" *Sigh* Fangirls..." Itachi said as he shook his head. "I'll go tell Sasuke and Sayuri that we won't be doing any missions today." The Uchiha left to notify his siblings.

**-Three Months Later-**

"NO! NO MORE OF THESE CHORES!" Kasumi whined as she plopped down on the floor. Three months she had been a genin and for almost every day of those three months she had done at least two D-ranked missions she dubbed "Chores", and deal with an emotionless 'jerk' of a teammate. Natsuki shared her twins' dislike more the most part but wasn't as vocal about it.

"Kasumi..." Tenzo gave her the creepy stare once again, and she instantly quieted down.

"These D-Rank missions serve a purpose. A genin needs to do at least 150 of them before they can even request a C-Ranked mission. " Iruka explained to the twins but was interrupted as Natsuki spoke.

"If we've done enough missions they why can't we take one C-Ranked mission?" The red haired genin asked louder than most people would like.

"Your teamwork is quite lacking. Also, your abilities on your own and as a team are not where I would like them to be before we do a C-ranked mission." Tenzo answered.

"Now now Tenzo, I'm sure we can arrange something for your team." The Hokage said as he looked through a much of C-Ranked missions.

"Hmm. This will do." Minato said as he pulled out a scroll and Team 7 walked in, Sayuri gently holding a cat. Team 7 was still the same, but Kakashi was able to reduce Sakura's fangirl-ish habits. It was safe to say that the pink-haired ninja was on her way to becoming a decent kunoichi.

"Ah perfect! You've arrived just on time Kakashi." Minato said as Sayuri handed the cat 'Tora' to the Fire Daimyo's Wife.

"Oh Tora-chan! You're okay! Thank you very much ninja-san." The fat woman said as she crushed the cat in a hug. Sayuri sweatdropped as the cat gave a 'Meow' for help, while Sasuke and Sakura had very dark expressions.

_"Yesssss... Just squeeze a little harder and it'll be over soon Tora..."_ Was the thought on the two genin.

"Sensei. Can we do a C-ranked mission now?! We've done like 200 of these chores!" Sakura screeched, though not as loud as she once was.

"Actually Kakashi, do you think your team's ready for one?" The Hokage asked his student who nodded.

"Alright then that works for me. Team 6 and Team 7. You two will be going on a one month joint C-Ranked mission. Your task is to protect a-" Minato explained, but was interrupted.

"WHO? IS IT A PRINCESS?! SOME FAMOUS ACTOR?!" Kasumi and Natsuki shouted in excitement.

"No I was getting to that. You will be protecting a bridge builder from Nami no Kuni named Tazuna" Minato finished and then he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

In came an older man with the stench of bad sake all over him, the man stumbled around with a bottle of sake but stood up after a while. He was quite tall, and had grey hair and beard, and had glasses.

"This is the protection I get? I asked for ninja, not some kids. The pink one looks like she's going to wet her pants at the sight of blood, and the blondie over there looks like a spoiled little girl." The old man said.

"HEY! TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID!" Both Sakura and Kasumi shouted as they ran to hit the bridge builder, but were stopped by their respective senseis.

"Mah mah Sakura, It wouldn't do good to kill our client before the mission even starts." Kakashi eye smiled to his pupil who stopped struggling.

"Kasumi, why can't you show a little more restraint like your sister. Do you see anyone else beside Sakura running to kill him?" Tenzo said to his student who reluctantly sat down once more.

"Anyways, I am Tazuna! The Super Master Bridge Builder of the Wave!" Tazuna declared.

"Yes um anyways Tazuna-san, should something come up, Te-" Kakashi was interrupted by a cough.

"Yes, Kakashi there is a jonin, however I need Tenzo elsewhere and therefore he will not be able to go with you. I've already called a suitable replacement for Tenzo on this mission. Come in!" Minato prompted the silent man behind the door to enter, revealing a 17 year old blonde.

"Tazuna-san? What are you doing here?" The blonde asked the older man.

"What do you think gaki?" Tazuna replied.

"Oh hello there Tenzo-sensei." The blonde greeted his sensei, who nodded in return.

"Anyways, this is Tenzo's replacement for this mission. You can introduce yourself later. Dismissed, but Tazuna and Naruto, please stay." Minato finished.

"Alright everyone, we meet at the South Gate in one hour. Get what you need for a month." Kakashi said as everyone but Tazuna and Naruto then cleared the room.

"Now Tazuna, why don't we hear the real mission?" Minato gave a sweet smile promising much trouble if the answer was unsatisfactory, both men paled for different reasons, Tazuna because of the circumstances in his country and Naruto because he knew it somehow involved him.

* * *

END!

Again, I won't write up translations and technique explanations that I've done before, whether it be in an earlier chapter or in the chapter. So I've skipped most of the time Naruto had from his return to the end of his three year ANBU career, then the rookies' graduation to the beginning of the wave arc.

Anyways, Thanks for the support thus far, and I hope you enjoyed. :D


	11. Ch 11 Calming the Wave

A/N: Very long chapter for you and sorry it took longer than usual! I wanted to stuff the entire Wave arc in this, or somehow divide it into two parts if its long enough. I have no idea how to write the more romantic scenes/dates, so suggestions would be really helpful. Also, Naruto will be getting a Clan Name soon, and I want some suggestions from you guys. As of now, I'm thinking of taking a name from a Bleach character, probably "Kurosaki".

**KING OF ZA WORLD**: He will have next to no issues in battles, but he will show signs of struggling due to exhaustion and such when the situation calls for it.

**danjana**: Well the way I see things, Kakashi simply knows more jutsu and has more experience, while Itachi takes the time to master the jutsu he learns. Also, a bit of Minato's favoritism was showing, he personally knew and trusted Kakashi so Minato let Kakashi be the team leader.

**Tha Golden Boy**: That would be my mistake. I wasn't sure of whether Yugao should be with Naruto or Hayate at the time. As for the rushing thing, I kinda just wanted to get the time in between out of the way. So my bad again. As for the twins being weak, they allowed their arrogance to cloud their judgement, seeing as how they have two very powerful ninja for parents and chakra of a biju. Also, because they've mostly been trying to control the Kyuubi's chakra as children, they became more dependent on it, so that's why their mid-genin without it.

As for the turning point in their relationship, I didn't do too well on it. In this chapter, Natsuki doubts her parent's dislike/mistrust in Naruto and see's the mistakes she made in the past (which was not actually written in the chapter) and gives Naruto a chance, along with Kasumi. But yeah Naruto wouldn't let them die since their comrades and everything.

**forbiddenfruitunloved**: Since Sayuri lived with a clan composing of shinobi for the majority, she was exposed to some truth of being a shinobi, due to Itachi and her parents being shinobi. Going to Sakura, I admit that I may have made her overly weak, but when her crush on Sasuke was merely a crush, which got in the way of her training outside of the academy. Though yes I agree that being compared with two people such as Sasuke and Naruto in the canon made Sakura look very weak.

**rivereagles999**: Naruto's book is not porn/smut or whatever you want to call it. Yes Haku is a girl and cliffhangers suck don't they? My apologies.

**Culaio**: As I said earlier, I wasn't too sure about who Yugao would be with. So if it seems like she had a crush on Naruto as a girl then that would simply be a crush, but she is with Hayate just like in canon, her love for Naruto is a brotherly-sisterly kind of love.

**KillerDonut**: I'll do my best not to abandon this fic, but I may take breaks should life get in the way or if I start a second story.

**ncpfan**: Well the argument was what I wanted to be the point where Minato and Kushina begin to doubt their actions towards Naruto in the past. As for Kushina not knowing, she knew that two ANBU went but not the identities, seeing as how ANBU identities are supposed to be secret information. Yes this chapter someone will realize their actions and confront Naruto about it.

**Sefrys**: Yeah, honestly I feel like I made Naruto incredibly overpowered, so I'll try to slow it down, seeing as how he doesn't have much to learn and just has to polish his skills for the most part.

Disclaimer... These aren't mine... Damn you Tite Kubo for killing off Byakuya! (I swear he's near death...)

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 11 Calming the Wave**

* * *

After Minato's 'interrogation' of Tazuna, the older man sang like a canary. Instead of needing protection from bandits and rogues, he needed protection from Gato Industries. Apparently Gato had been doing some trading with the black market, and possibly hired missing nin to take out Tazuna so he wouldn't be able to build the bridge. As things are now, the trade routes consisted of traveling by boat, and Gato owned all of the shipping companies and the boats. The people of the Wave had lost hope, and if a bridge was built then they would regain their lost hope. Naruto's part in this was to assassinate Gato and help Team 6 and 7 while Tenzo was gone on another mission.

"Joy... Yet another assassination." Naruto drawled out as he and Tazuna walked the streets.

"Gaki, if you find anything from Gato that could be used for the Wave, I'll gladly take it off you." Tazuna said as he took another swig of sake.

"Right... Remember, South Gate in an hour. I gotta go and prepare old man." Naruto said as he disappeared in a shimmer.

**-One Hour Later-**

"Yosh... It looks like everyone is here." Kakashi said as he jumped from a tree branch and closed his book.

"YOU WERE HERE THE WHOLE TIME?!" Sakura pointingly accused her sensei.

"Why of course. Kasumi, Natsuki, Sai. Since Tenzo is not here, you follow the chain of command and listen to me. Understood?" Kakashi reminded the genin of Team 6 who nodded, while the Namikaze twins were jumping with excitement.

"Yo Kakashi." Was heard from behind the silver scarecrow who nearly let go of his book in shock.

"Oh hey Naruto." The scarecrow was able to hide his shock as Naruto appeared.

"Everyone's here. Well, shall we?" Kakashi eye smiled as he walked over to the bridge builder, while Naruto vanished from sight. Then the group of people started their journey to the Wave.

**-30 Minutes Later-**

The walk thus far had been, utterly boring and a complete disappointment to the genin, with the exception of Sai who did not express any emotions. Naruto on the other hand, had used an invisibility seal and was walking with the group should something happen.

"Neh sensei? Doesn't the Wave have any ninja?" Sakura asked, trying to break the silence. Tazuna tensed but, but only Kakashi and Naruto noticed.

"The Wave does not have any ninja there, instead they use a militia of samurai. It's also a shipping harbour and fishing industry." Kakashi explained as Tazuna slowly relaxed, trying not to benoticed.

"Ah..." Sakura mentally noted the new information as they passed by a puddle. Kakashi and Naruto's gaze fell upon said puddle as they walked over it, while Sakura thought something was off, but dismissed the thought. Once the group was a few feet away from the puddle, two ninja appeared from it. Both were tall with wild brown hair, dark eyes, a claw like gauntlet on their hand and a slashed headband of Kiri. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the Kiri headband, while the two tied Kakashi in chains.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The genin of Team 7 yelled as their sensei was killed before them. The genin froze in fear, but Sai along with the Uchiha twins were able to snap out of their fear and rushed in to defeat the two enemy ninja. Naruto beamed with pride as he watched the genin fight together and eventually overpower the Kiri nin. The rest of the genin eventually joined after getting over their fear, but one of the enemies was able to slash at Kasumi's cheek. Before he went for the killing blow, Kakashi appeared and stopped the attacker.

"Mah mah, I can't have you killing one of my sensei's daughters now." Kakashi quickly tied up the nin while an invisible Naruto tied up the other, scaring the genin.

"Hey hey easy there." Naruto said as his form became visible.

"Naruto-nii!" The Uchiha twins gasped in surprise.

"Y- YOU! Why'd you let them attack us?" Kasumi shouted as she nursed her cheek, her anger rising quickly.

"The same reason as Kakashi did, to get information. I already know the reason which is tied to my reason for going with you, but Kakashi wanted to find out and evaluate your reactions as well." Naruto explained as he casually tied the two Kiri ninja to a tree.

"Yes yes. It appears you have some explaining to do, neh Tazuna-san?" Kakashi then went to interrogate the drunk while Naruto interrogated the Kiri ninja.

"Now tell me Gozu, Meizu. Why are you here?" Naruto said with an evil smile.

"We won't tell you sh-" Meizu was cut off as he felt a strong punch to the gut.

"Let me rephrase my question. Why aren't you in Kiri?" Naruto said as he laced some killing intent in his words, masked by a sweet smile. The Kiri nin paled.

"You moron! The civil war-" Gozu was cut off by Naruto again.

"Is over. Do you not read the news? It's been over for almost a year." Naruto said the prisoners gasped.

_"It seems that Zabuza didn't know either.__"_ Naruto mused as Kakashi returned.

"Find out anything?" Kakashi said.

"Nothing about why the Demon Brothers of Kiri are targeting Tazuna as of yet. Kakashi, you may want to advert your eyes since you've already seen the illusion I'm about to use. The genin should watch however, they have yet to see the horrors of shinobi life." Naruto said with a gleam as he materialized Tsukiyomi into his hand. Now the brothers were fearing for their lives. Naruto whispered some words and let his zanpakuto change to its shikai form.

"This is something that will make you scream. **Illusion: Sunset of Youth**" Naruto said in a somewhat demonic voice. Kakashi gasped and quickly backed away. Suddenly, the world changed, the people who were once in front of the Demon Brother's were replaced by a green clad jonin of Konoha. A few feet away was a kid dressed in the same way as the jonin. Already Gozu and Meizu were begining to pale further, then they screamed as the man kneeled down and the boy ran and grabbed the older jonin into a hug.

"LEE" The older man shouted as tears began to form.

"GAI-SENSEI!" The boy also began forming tears.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!" Then it happened, the background suddenly became a sunset over a beach.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!" After, a wave came crashing into the green duo.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NO! NO NO NO! GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!" The demon brothers were screaming hysterically while Naruto had his eyes shadowed and was laughing in reality, making every person have a shiver crawl up their spine.

"So, ready to speak?" Naruto's voice rang from all directions of the illusion.

"YES YES! PLEASE JUST KEEP THAT... THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" Gozu screamed in terror, and then the illusion disappeared, revealing that he and his brother were still tied to a tree.

Everyone from Konoha, Tazuna and Sai included, were sweating slightly and paling quickly, fearing for their own sanity. Kakashi however, was paling rapidly and sweating bullets, making him look similar to Orochimaru.

_"Cruel bastard. Not even I would damn Orochimaru to such torture."_ Kakashi thought.

"Al- al... alright. We'll talk..." Meizu stuttered in relief.

"Zabuza-sama sent us to eliminate the bridge builder. He said that Gato was paying us to kill the old man! Please that's all we know!" Gozu said.

"That was truly cruel of you. I'll send a dog back to Hokage-sama to pick these guys up." Kakashi said as he summoned a small brown dog with a headband. The genin were looking and awe, and jumped when the dog spoke.

"Yo." The dog said.

"Yo Pakkun, I need you to get this message to Hokage-sama." Kakashi eye smiled at the dog, who nodded and ran off to Konoha.

"Well anyways, why don't you explain your _real_ reason for hiring us to the genin, ne Tazuna-san?" Kakashi said as Tazuna sighed and nodded.

"The Wave was once a peaceful and prosperous country, but not so much anymore... A man came and bought all of the harbours and ships, trying to control the country, and succeeded. The man then broke the spirits of everyone of the wave, to keep us under his thumb. That bastard killed everyone who opposed him, everyone else who does don't do anything in fear. He took many of the woman of our country for slavery and underground dealings. He's the owner of a Shipping Tycoon, Gato." Tazuna venomously spat the name.

"Gato as in Gato Corp?" Naruto asked, and received a nod from the old man.

"The bridge I'm building is the only one to the mainland, and I'm doing this for everyone back there! So please help me!" Tazuna begged the group as Kakashi thought things out, but then left it to the genin.

"So what do you think?" Kakashi eye smiled.

"I say we go." Sasuke said with Sayuri vigorously nodding.

"Yeah! We can do it!" Sakura chirped.

"We'll help you Tazuna-san." Natsuki said while her sister only nodded. Sai also nodded with an odd smile plastered on his face.

"Alright then. We'll help you. Genin, chances are that ninja we encounter will be much stronger than those two." Kakashi said as he pointed to the two Demon Brothers of Kiri. "So, when either Naruto-san here or myself tell you to stay back during a fight, listen to us." Kakashi warned the genin who nodded in return. The group then resumed their journey to the Wave.

**-Two Hours Later-**

"I'm tired!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Perhaps I should up your training when we get back." Kakashi 'thought' out loud. Sakura then quickly shut her mouth, not wanting to run around Konoha more than twice.

They continued their walk in much silence, and then arrived at the lake shore. Once they got there, a young man with a straw hat awaited on a boat.

"Tazuna?! Finally! I thought that Gato was gonna find me before you got here. You took your sweet time didn't you?" The man accused the bridge builder.

"Nonsense Sora. But I got help don't worry, these super ninja here helped me out." Tazuna said.

"Anyways get in, however I can only hold up to 6 people on this boat..." Sora said as he counted the group. Along with himself and Tazuna, there was a total of 10 people.

"I think four of you are gonna have to swim." Sora said dryly.

"Actually, Naruto and I can carry someone. We can walk across with you. Any volunteers?" Kakashi added

"We'll go with you." The Uchiha twins said, wanting to get away from the Namikaze's preachings, leaving Sai and Tazuna behind. Kakashi then carried Sasuke while Naruto held Sayuri who blushed lightly.

"Well, let's go." Naruto said as the group left to cross the water.

**-Later-**

The group was able to cross the sea with no incident, save for Tazuna claiming that he was losing his hearing and the Namikaze twins with Sakura shouting in surprise when they saw the bridge past the mist, nearly giving away their position. Once they got to shore, they were able to walk for a few minutes before something happened. A rustle was heard from a nearby bush. Sai, Sayuri and Sasuke threw a kunai in that direction. Then they were gob-smacked as a snow white bunny crawled out in fear. Elsewhere, two tall figures were in thought.

_"So Kakashi of the Sharingan was with them. No wonder the Demon Brothers failed." _The first figure thought to himself.

_"Why does that blonde kid look familiar..."_ A second figure thought.

"BAKAS! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID! YOU NEARLY KILLED THAT POOR BUNNY!" The remaining three genin shouted as they tried to snuggle with the bunny. Just as the three genin was about to pick up the bunny, they stopped and thought to themselves.

_"Wait, white fur. Where did it come from?"_ Was the thoughts on the three's minds.

_"Strange, white fur. Last time I checked it was summer. That means-"_ Naruto thought in his head.

_"Distraction? Kawarimi?"_ Kakashi finished that thought, then the jonins' eyes widened.

"Everyone get down!"

The genin of Team 7 and Sai ducked while Naruto tackled Tazuna to the ground and Kakashi pulled Kasumi and Natsuki onto the ground as a giant cleaver came sailing over their heads and got stuck on a tree, followed by some kunai.

"Kubikiribocho..." Naruto said the name of the blade out loud.

"That's right gaki. I'm surprised that a brat as yourself recognizes the blade." A gruff voice spoke from a distance.

"It's a shame I can't bury you. Your funeral would have been marvelous!" Another voice said. Then Kakashi and Naruto turned their heads in that direction to see two missing nin of Kiri on top of the giant cleaver, one had a sack over his shoulder.

"Momochi Zabuza, A-Rank Missing nin of Kiri. Wanted for attempted assassination of the Yondaime Mizukage." Kakashi said as he memorized every bingo book profile that was A-Rank and above.

"Hmm... Kurosuki Raiga. So you two are Two of the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist?" Naruto inquired.

"Hmm... A gaki knows us. It seems that we're getting famous." Zabuza said as he held the Kubikiribocho. Kakashi then gripped his slanted hitae-ate.

"Ohh. So your gonna reveal your **Sharingan** now Copy Ninja?" Zabuza said as Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing a crimson eye with three tomoe in all its glory.

_"Sharingan?!"_ Sasuke and Sayuri both thought.

"I'm gonna need this to win. Naruto you take-" Kakashi was cut off.

"Hey Zabuza! HAYASHI SENDS HIS REGARDS!" Naruto shouted as he shot a ball of red fire from his palm at the Kiri nin.

"Gaki, how do you know Hayashi?" Zabuza said as he reappeared.

"How 'bout you tell me why your still not in Kiri? War's over." Naruto questioned the Momochi.

"I call bullshit! Who's the leader of the rebel faction and their right hand man?" Raiga shouted.

"Terumi Mei and Tetsu!" Naruto shouted back.

"Neh Kakashi-sensei, how does Naruto know this?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, he fought in the war of course. Now stay back and protect Tazuna-san." Kakashi ordered, leaving everyone surprised at the first part.

"Regardless we still can't trust you. Raiga, take the blonde gaki, I got Hatake." Zabuza said as he gripped his cleaver and jumped onto the water. Raiga grinned as he brought out his dual swords, the Kiba.

"**Kirigakure no Jutsu**"

A heavy mist formed from over the water where Zabuza once was.

"So you want a kenjutsu dual? Then a kenjutsu dual it is!" Naruto grinned as he materialized Susanoo and Amaterasu into each of his hands. Naruto knew that Tsukyomi's illusion abilities wouldn't work incredibly well in this situation, and he wanted to have a flat kenjutsu battle. Both fighters got into their stances, but Raiga charged in.

**-With Kakashi-**

Kakashi's kunai was pressed against the giant blade. Sparks were generated as pressure was placed on their weapons.

"Well Kakashi, not bad. It appears that the Sharingan is as good as they say."

Zabuza then exploded in water, surprising Kakashi as another Zabuza slashed the copy ninja from behind. Just as the blood went flying, it transformed to water.

_"Water... Did he? That bastard!"_ Zabuza thought as he heard a kunai positioned at his neck.

"It's over." Kakashi said, but was surprised to hear a laugh erupt from the taller man.

"You think-" Zabuza then exploded into water, signifying that it was a clone.

"This is the end!" The real Zabuza swung the blade from behind, but Kakashi was barely able to duck on time, and stood up when he saw the blade stuck in the ground. Quickly spinning around, Kakashi was met by a strong side kick, sending him high in the air. Kakashi was able to flip and land on top of the water, and sped towards the Momochi. Kakashi met the Kiri nin with a elbow strike, then did a full spin and continued with a hook, pushing Zabuza back. Zabuza was able to block the attack and counter with a spinning elbow strike and another side kick, sending Kakashi flying into the water this time.

_"I think the water is a bit heavier... Wait... Damn"_ Kakashi thought as he saw Zabuza appear by him and flash through some hand-seals.

"**Suiro no Jutsu**"

_"To think that I thought I could've used water as cover..."_ Kakashi mentally berated himself as the water covered the copy ninja.

"Everyone, take Tazuna and get away!" The silver haired man shouted.

**-With Naruto-  
**

_"Damn it Kakashi, you've gotten rusty..."_ Naruto cursed the scarecrow for not keeping up in his training as he was in a deadlock with Raiga.

"Kid, I'd be paying attention here. Your funeral will be extravagant I promise you." Raiga chuckled with hints of insanity.

"Names Naruto. I'll be sure to do you the favor of having the heavens sing for your own funeral." Naruto said as he overpowered the Kiri swordsman and jumped back.

"Genin! Some of you go free Kakashi! I'll hold them off!" Naruto said as he saw two water clones appear behind the Namikaze twins and flashed to stop them.

CLANG

"Natsuki, Kasumi, pay attention! Go and help free Kakashi!" Naruto shouted as he destroyed one clone and clashed with the water clone. The twins suddenly shook out of their surprise and begrudgingly went to help their superior. The blonde swordsman quickly overpowered the water clone and flashed to fight Raiga. Soon after another water clone appeared beside the real Zabuza.

"Hahahaha! Do you really think that you're truly ninja just because you've got that headband on?!" Zabuza's clone cackled.

"N-, Nani!" The genin shouted in confusion. Natsuki and Kasumi were getting quite angry with the Kiri ninjas, the latter's anger rising much quicker as red chakra slowly appeared.

"We are ninja! There's no way a worthless missing nin like you could possibly dream of defeating a Namikaze!" Kasumi shouted back as Natsuki tried to calm her twin.

"I'm known as The Demon of the Bloody Mist. Do you want to know why it's the Bloody Mist?!" Zabuza questioned, but gave no chance of a reply, then Raiga walked beside the other swordsman.

"There once was a group of academy students in Kiri, they ate together, slept together, they did everything together!" Zabuza laughed some more. "Then for the graduation exam-" Zabuza paused and finished in a demonic voice. **"**You had to slaughter everyone else and be the last man surviving. That was ME!**"** Then Zabuza's cackle grew louder many times over while Raiga smiled.

"NANI!" The girls of the genin shouted, the rest were just as surprised but hid it better.

"You're no ninja, your just-" Zabuza's clone stopped when he saw a blade at Raiga's neck.

**"**A bunch of green as hell brats... Am I right?**"** Naruto whispered in the mist with his Hollow voice. Raiga was barely able to substitute himself with a random log as Naruto attempted to slit his throat. Then the ninja and clone jumped back, allowing some of the genin to attack while Naruto fought Raiga. Zabuza saw the Sasuke rushing in with a kunai flying at the him. Zabuza easily dodged the kunai and Sasuke's punch, grabbing his head, and tossing him into Sayuri. He then ducked as a giant fuma shuriken passed the clone's head as Natsuki rushed in along with Kasumi. The two fought the water clone, Natsuki performing a flying knee strike, letting Kasumi do a spinning back kick, pushing the tall clone away before it could swing the fake Kubikiribocho.

"**Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!**" The Namikaze twins jumped out of the way as Sasuke rushed in a blew a giant fireball at Zabuza's clone, forcing it to jump to dodge a rain of kunai within the fireball.

"**Choju Giga!**" A pair of lions made of ink shot from Sai's scroll and jumped over the clone rather than at it. The lions landed in front of the water and leaped towards the real Zabuza, just as they were about to land, Natsuki and Kasumi tossed a hail kunai with exploding tags at the Demon of the Mist.

_"Not bad..."_ Zabuza thought as he was forced to release Kakashi to avoid any injuries. The silver scarecrow was able to stand back on top of the water in relief.

**-With Naruto-**

After watching the genin free the other Kakashi, Naruto had a small smile grace his lips as he then rushed to finish off Raiga and go help Kakashi, who was in a fierce taijutsu battle with Zabuza.

"**Hado #32: Okasen**"

Yellow energy collected at Naruto's blade and formed a wave of sorts, then shot of in an arc at the swordsman of the Mist. As of now, Raiga was blocking it, but was having much difficulty doing so.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Finding the strength to deflect the wave of energy, Raiga deflected the yellow arc skywards and began panting.

"Ranmaru, where is he?" The man seemingly said to no one.

"To your left." A gentle, childish voice returned. Raiga immediately raised one of his swords to block an incoming attack, leaving Naruto slightly stunned.

_"Interesting, he wasn't able to react this fast before... Not bad though."_ Naruto thought as he circled the swordsman with shunpo. Naruto then appeared behind Raiga and started his assault just as the missing-nin was turning. With rapid strikes Naruto stabbed and slashed at the other swordsman, kicking him away when he was tired.

"**Bakudo #61: Riku-**" Naruto stopped his **Einshohaki** as a pair of senbon found it's way into Raiga's neck, and the swordsman instantly fell forwards and hit the ground with a thud.

**-With Kakashi-**

"You think that-" Zabuza roared as he continued a long set of hand-seals.

"You can win with that eye?" Kakashi finished the sentence as he imitated the hand-seals at the exact same moment.

"That Kami forsaken eye i-" Once again Zabuza was interrupted by Kakashi who was doing the same hand-seals as he.

"Is really pissing me off." Kakashi finished, finishing his hand-seals as he spoke and an angry dragon of water with red eyes ascended from the lake. "This is the end!"

_"How?! He was copying my every hand-seal! So how can he finish BEFORE_ ME!" Zabuza roared in his mind, sweating as his own water dragon rose from the lake. Then he hesitated as he saw himself behind the Konoha jonin doing the same hand-seals.

"**Suiton: Suiryuden!**"

Kakashi's water dragon was launched first as Zabuza's flew towards the scarecrow and clashed with the other dragon, but Zabuza's water dragon was completely destroyed by Kakashi's and was charging right at the swordsman who was still in slight shock. Upon landing on the ground, Zabuza tried to stand up but felt a prickling feeling at his neck and fell back to the ground dead.

"Kakashi! You alright?" Naruto said as he flashed beside the silver haired man.

"I've been better, I've used the Sharingan too much though." Kakashi responded as he went to feel Zabuza's pulse.

"He's dead." The jonin said. Soon, a young looking ninja wearing a mask appeared beside the dead Zabuza while holding a dead Raiga.

"I'm of the Kiri Hunter Nin division. I thank you for your help, I've been tracking these two for a while." The Hunter-nin spoke as Naruto nodded, worried about his comrade and not paying much attention to the Hunter nin.

"What the hell?! You've waited all of this time! You could have helped you know!" Kasumi shouted.

"My duty is not to help ninja of other villages but to hunt down missing nin of my own village." The hunter nin said as he picked up Zabuza and jumped away with the two missing nin.

"Gah!" Kakashi fell down onto his knees, while covering his left eye with his head band again.

"Sorry, I've used the Sharingan a lot more then I should have." Kakashi said as he fell unconscious, leaving a stupefied Naruto.

"A ninjutsu specialist that can barely use a few jutsu without suffering chakra exhaustion, wonderful." Naruto mumbled sarcastically as he then turned to Tazuna.

"Old man, where's your house?" Naruto said as he carried Kakashi over his shoulders.

"It isn't far from here, I'll lead the way." Tazuna said as Naruto nodded.

"Alright guys, good job back there, now let's go!" Naruto called to the genin who nodded and walked towards the older ninja.

When the group arrived in town, they were absolutely horrified. The many of the buildings seemed rather rundown, there were people in rags sitting along the sidewalk, begging for food or money. Children, women, men were all there.

"This is what the town is like for the most part. I'm a super bridge builder, so I have to get that super bridge up for this town, for the people." Tazuna said in a voice that made the genin truly respect him for a moment.

"My house is right here. Come on." Tazuna walked towards a decent looking house and knocked. After a moment, a short, young woman with long black hair opened the door.

"Tou-san! Naruto-san? You're safe! Who are these people?" The woman asked as she allowed the group to enter.

"Tsunami-chan, they are the super ninja that I hired to help!" Tazuna declared.

"Well then you have my thanks for keeping my tou-san safe ninja-san." Tsunami bowed.

"It's nothing, but do you have a room that I lay this guy down? Sorta unconscious." Naruto sheepishly asked.

"Of course, come with me. You guys can just stay here for now." Tsunami said as she led Naruto to unload the scarecrow.

Sasuke then sat down on the couch, while Sayuri decided to sit beside him. Sai just sat down on a near by chair, while Sakura swiped another chair from Tazuna, letting the old man fall and spill his sake. The Namikaze twins just sat down on another couch across from the Uchiha twins.

"You know Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-san are really good." Sakura stated the obvious again.

"Hmm... Kakashi you should expect, but I don't know how strong Naruto-nii is, he supposedly fought in a war somewhere." Sasuke replied to his teammate.

"Tch..." Kasumi grumbled something incoherent again while Natsuki sighed, the redhead deep in thought.

_"Why doesn't tou-san like him? Naruto seems like a good person from how he's acting and from the Kyuubi's ramblings..." _Were the thoughts on Natsuki's mind. Shortly after Naruto and Tsunami returned from the second floor.

"Naruto-san, what do we do now?" Sai asked the jonin.

"Well we do the mission. Your mission is to protect Tazuna as he builds the bridge, so we'll be making a schedule so that two of you go to the bridge to protect Tazuna. That way, if something happens, one of you can defend the old drunk while the other can warn us." Naruto said. The genin nodded and then began to make their schedule.

"Oh yeah, chances are Kakashi will want to train you guys while we're here. Anyways Tazuna, when do you work on the bridge?" Naruto inquired the drunk.

"You know, weekdays. I leave at 8 in the morning and we work till 6 in the afternoon." Tazuna said as he put his sake dish down.

"Alright then, So two genin per rotation, 8 people in total... 10 hours... Guess that will do for now." Naruto mumbled to himself as he scribbled some things on a piece of paper.

"Okay then, there's eight of us and 10 hours each day. That means that a pair of you will go with Tazuna at 8 AM, and stay there till 10 AM. Two hour shifts. Then from 10 to 12, 12 to 2 in the afternoon, 2 to 4 and 4 to 6 where we come back. Five shifts. A pair of you will go there for one shift, then the next two pairs, finally Kakashi and I will take our own shift. Got it?" Naruto said to the genin who nodded.

"Alright, any volunteers?" Naruto said, as Kasumi's hand and Natsuki's hand shot up.

"We'll take the first one." They said in creepy unison. Inside Naruto was cheering.

_"YES! I don't have to wake up early! But why do they want to?"_ Naruto wondered but wrote their names for the requested time.

"I suppose Sayuri-nee-chan and I will take the next one after." Sasuke said as his sister smiled.

"Okay, so you two for 10 to 12." Naruto scribbled their names.

"Sakura and Sai. You two will have the 12 to 2 PM shift, got it?" Naruto said. Sakura reluctantly nodded while Sai said something about flat-chested people, causing Sakura to slap him.

"Alright... I'll take the shift from two to six until Kakashi is better, then I'll do 4 to 6 and let Kakashi have two hours. I'll leave a Kage bunshin here just in case when I'm gone." Naruto said as he wrote what he needed to and left it on the table.

"So Naruto-san, where are we sleeping?" Sakura asked.

"We have two rooms, including the one Kakashi-san is resting in." Tsunami said in a kind voice.

"Thank you Tsunami-san. Okay then, you four girls will have one room while Sasuke, Sai, Kakashi and I will sleep in the other room." Naruto said to the genin who left to unpack their things.

"Tazuna-san, where's Gato's base?" Naruto asked the old man with an odd smile.

"Um, it's east by the docks. You won't miss it." Tazuna said as he sipped his sake.

"Thanks old man. Tell the kiddies that I'll be back in a bit." Naruto said as he created a Kage bunshin to stay and left for some reconnaissance.

**-Gato's Mansion-**

Naruto coughed as he got closer to the building.

_"Dear Kami, if he's so rich, then he could at least get decent sake..."_ Naruto thought. The building was a mansion, with another building attached to it with several guards patrolling the entrance. The smell of very cheap sake filled the air as Naruto covered his nose. The blonde smirked and slapped an invisibility seal on himself.

_"This should be easy.__"_ Naruto thought, what could possibly go wrong? Naruto quickly extended his senses and was surprised. The mansion itself had maybe three guards patrolling each floor, but only one person outside, nothing that would be an issue. The building beside the mansion was most surprising, it had two underground floors with around a dozen guards on each floor. However, it did not seem like there was anything down there to begin with.

_"Must be a work in progress. Joy, I'll start with the mansion then..."_ Naruto mused. He silently crept to the gate and killed the guard, looking for any kind of key and then dragging the corpse into the sea. Naruto pocketed the security card and jumped over the gate, and leaped onto the roof. The nin found a flight of stairs leading to the lower floors and then knocked out one guard and replacing him with a henged bunshin. The second floor was quite open, so Naruto made some invisible clones to take out all four guards on this floor. Again Naruto replaced them with normal clones after hiding the bodies, and began searching the rooms. Naruto decided to search the room with double doors last.

The blonde was utterly disappointed, and so was Yami. Every room he cleared had nothing, so he decided to move on to the last room, most likely Gato's office if the gold plate over the door meant anything. His paranoia kicking in, Naruto stopped himself from grabbing the door and pressed his ear against the door, and hearing nothing. Then he decided to try and sense if anyone is inside. Again, there was nothing. Naruto then made a clone and sent him inside the office. The clone opened a door, revealing a very well decorated office. It was large, with blue carpet and a mahogany table with a giant chair which looked incredibly comfy. The clone then went to the back of the room and removed a painting, revealing a very large safe.

_"Hiding it behind the painting, how many times has that been used?"_ Naruto sweatdropped as he handed the clone the security card. The safe opened after a quick swipe and Naruto's jaw unhinged. The amount of stuff there was in there was amazing! Naruto and his clone then sorted through the loot, finding a wealth of money for the Wave, a list of trades, illegal dealings, hired thugs and missing ninja. However, Naruto found a very large scroll at the back, similar to the one Jiraiya always had with him. Naruto grinned and pulled out the scroll, sealing it to examine later. Creating several clones, Naruto ordered them to place several seals in the entire mansion and seal the things he had found. The clones went off and placed paralysis seals, tracking seals, you name it. Sensing someone coming in the gate, Naruto placed an illusion in the safe so it appears that everything was still there, replaced the painting and left through the roof without a trace.

_"I guess whatever that is will have to wait." _ Naruto thought, but then sneezed as he landed in a bush. _"Who the hell is talking about me this time?"_

**-Tazuna's Home-**

"Yo!" Kakashi said as he walked down the stairs on a pair of crutches, but then jumped as the scarecrow realized that there was someone else.

"Easy there Kashi, it's just me." Naruto said. Kakashi panted and sighed in relief.

"Oh man, anyways where were you?" The older jonin asked.

"Doing my part of this." Naruto cryptically answered.

"Naruto-san! When did you get back?" Tsunami said in surprise.

"Just now, where's the kiddies?" Naruto said lightheartedly.

"Eating supper." Tsunami answered as she held a frying pan.

**-Somewhere in Konoha-**

Yoshino was in the kitchen, and suddenly felt the urge to get a frying pan.

_"Whatever it is, it's your fault Shikaku-kun..."_The Nara woman thought as she smacked Shikaku who just entered the room. Yet again the older Nara fell into blissful unconsciousness while Shikamaru, who was still in the room sweatdropped.

_"Troublesome woman..."_ The genin thought but felt a chill up his spine.

"Did you think something, _troublesome_ Shikamaru-kun?" Yoshino appeared in front of the younger Nara with a sweet sweet smile, all while holding a frying pan. Shikamaru left the Nara compound in seconds.

**-Tazuna's Home-**

"Neh Naruto-nii, where did you go?" Sayuri asked.

"Hmm... Well," Naruto paused for a Kakashi-like dramatic pause. "It's a secret." Naruto made a very good impression of Kakashi, both jonin were eye-smiling, but Naruto was using both eyes. The blonde then turned to the silver scarecrow and eye-smiled.

"Kakashi-sensei, how is that Kiri ninja a Hunter-nin? He looks like our age, maybe even younger." Sayuri asked.

"Listen, there are some people that are as young as you," The silver-haired jonin turned to the genin. "But they are stronger than me." Kakashi said as he turned to Naruto who mumbled something incoherent.

"Subtle as a brick... *Sigh* Kakashi, I have the feeling that Raiga and Zabuza are both alive." Naruto said. Most genin were pondering on the first bit while Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"But how?! You saw that hunter nin kill them! You even went to feel Zabuza's pulse!" Sakura inquired.

"You sure you're not just paranoid or over-thinking things?" Tazuna added.

"Sakura, what did the hunter nin use?" The blonde asked.

"Senbon? What does tha-, oh..." Sakura said.

"Senbon is usually used for acupuncture. It isn't really a killing weapon, so it isn't used much for combat. However, a person can be put in a death-like state if they pinpoint certain parts of the body." Kakashi explained.

"It usually takes about two weeks to recover from something like that, so we will be training you." Naruto added.

The Sakura saw something that piqued her interest.

"Neh Tazuna-san. What's with this picture? It looks like someone ripped a person out of it." Sakura said curiously. Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari tensed. Then Tsunami spoke.

"He... He was my husband." She said.

"Kaiza, he was known as the Hero of the Wave." Tazuna said, then everyone heard a door slam shut.

"Seriously tou-san! I told you not to talk about him around Inari! I'm going out to look for him!" Tsunami said as she rushed out the door. Tazuna sighed.

"Inari used to be so happy and cheery, bubbly even. Kaiza was like Inari's role model, his father. But then it happened..." Tazuna paused as he started sniffling.

"Gato had him executed, in front of everyone! That bastard cut off his arms and threw him in the sea!" Then the old man burst into tears as the genin were in shock. The old man was able to calm down enough to continue.

"Ever since then, Inari changed to how he is now... There is no 'courage', no 'hope' in this town, or in Inari..." Tazuna continued.

"Despair..." Naruto looked down as he spoke that single word, the word was familiar to him. Tazuna nodded and continued.

"Kaiza once said this. "If there is something important to you, something precious, protect it with both arms. Even if you lose your life." After he was killed... Everyone just gave up." A short pause of silence followed.

"Well Kaiza has my full respect. To fight to protect what is important to you, only then will you know what strength is." Naruto said in a sage-like voice. "Anyways, Team 6 and Team 7. What has Tenzo-sensei and Kakashi taught you already?"

"With Kakashi-sensei, we've been doing teamwork exercises, taijutsu practice, dispelling genjutsu and we were beginning ninjutsu." Sakura answered.

Naruto then looked at Kakashi questioningly. "No chakra control?" The silver scarecrow nodded.

"Tenzo-sensei had us working on teamwork, some ninjutsu and taijutsu practice, and we learned how to dispel genjutsu." Sai answered. Naruto sighed.

"Alright then. Tomorrow, wake up at 6. After we do morning routines, I'll show you a chakra control exercise that you can work on. Then after Tazuna's done working at the bridge we can do some taijutsu practice and I might be able to teach each of you a jutsu." Naruto said. The genin nodded.

"Just to let you know, it's starting to get late. So for your sake I may sleep a bit early." Kakashi reminded the group.

The genin then left and did their nightly routines and went to bed, though Naruto stayed outside on the roof, while Natsuki was still up.

"Naruto-san?" A female spoke, causing Naruto to jump.

"Relax, it's me, Natsuki." She then walked up to the blonde.

"Oh, how can I help you Natsuki-san?" Naruto asked the redhead.

"Well, I wanted to say thanks for saving me earlier..." Natsuki mumbled. Naruto then walked over to her and patted her on the head.

"Don't worry about it Natsuki-san. We're all comrades here." The blonde then eye-smiled. Natsuki soon began forming tears, and then hugged Naruto, surprising the hell out of him.

" *Sniff* I'm sorry Naruto-nii!" Her voice was muffled as she began to cry.

_"Okay, I swear it's 'Surprise Naruto Day'... What happened?!"_ Naruto wondered.

"For what?" The blonde replied.

"Everything! I was so mean to you!" She then cried harder as Naruto tried to calm her down and comfort her.

"Shh.. It's okay, it's in the past." The blonde said. Natsuki then let go.

"But still! It doesn't mean I should have been so mean to you! Even the Kyuubi was nice to you!" Natsuki said in between sniffles.

"It's okay Natsuki, it's okay." Naruto said as he then laid down again.

"Um, Naruto-nii? Remember about 6 months ago, when you had that argument with tou-san and kaa-san?" Natsuki asked timidly.

"Oh yeah, what about?" Naruto replied.

"Well, what was that prophecy from the geezer toads?" Natsuki said. Naruto chuckled at the redhead's "respect" for the Elder Toads.

"Hmm... That was a very long time ago. Let me think for a minute..." Naruto said. "Oh right I believe it was this. 'The children of prophecy. Children of strong parents, guide by the love and care of their family, will become the saviours of this world.' I couldn't catch exactly what Jiraiya said after, but it was something about an ancient power from before the Rikudo Sennin re-emerging into the world. You do know that Jiraiya and Minato are both summoners of those "Geezer toads" of yours, and I'm willing to bet that they want you to sign the Toad's contract too." Naruto explained.

"Oh." Was all Natsuki said with a sheepish smile. It was all she could say, some random prophecy implies that she and Kasumi would become the saviours of the world. Nothing to it.

"You should get some sleep, Natsuki." The blonde ruffled the girl's hair, soon Natsuki then went to bed, letting Naruto to do his own things. Taking the opportunity to examine that large scroll, Naruto unsealed it and looked over it. It had red borders, and once Naruto opened it, a picture of a Phoenix. There was only one name, but was far too faded, most likely by time, but Naruto was still able to decipher it.

"Genryusei Shigekuni Yamamoto..." Naruto's eyes widened. "So-Taicho of the Soul Society?" The blonde whispered in astonishment. "Is this what I think it is?" Pricking his thumb with his zanpakuto, Naruto wrote his name with expert calligraphy.

_"Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram!"_ Naruto thought as he went through the hand-seals.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" Instead of something appearing before Naruto, Naruto was transported who knows where. Regaining his bearings, Naruto found that he was in a mountain region of sorts, as there were mountains close by, a forest to his left, and a cave directly in front of him.

**"Come, Shinigami"** A sage-like voice spoke from the cave. Naruto, unsure of what to do, decided to go in the cave.

"Hello?" Naruto called out to the darkness. Then the cave was quickly illuminated as a giant phoenix which happened to be made of fire rose from the abyss below.

**"Welcome, I am Kikoo, what you would consider the boss summon for a summoning contract."** The bird spoke.

"Um, I'm just curious, how did you know that I'm a shinigami, Kikoo-sama?" Naruto asked.

**"Simple young shinigami. Long ago in the Soul Society, there was a weapon referred to as 'The Sokyoku'. I was the spirit of the Sokyoku which had power surpassing one million zanpakuto. The Phoenixes have been allies of the shinigami long ago, however that is a story for another time. Come closer young one.****"**

"My name is Naruto, Kikoo-sama." Naruto declared as he walked closer to the phoenix. Kikoo then gazed into Naruto's eyes, watching all of the blonde's memories.

**"A soul such as yourself, such will to protect... Very well then, from now on, I, Kikoo, along with the rest of the Phoenix clan shall be your allies."** Kikoo said as he shrunk to the size of a large cat and landed on Naruto's left arm. Then the phoenix used its claws and pierced Naruto's hand, causing the blonde shinigami to grit his teeth in pain.

**"It is done, you have received the Mark of the Phoenix. Call us, when you need us. Also, not every phoenix is of the fire element, you will discover as you summon us more. You may return to where you once were by simply thinking of the place."** The miniature phoenix then flew back to it's resting spot.

"Arigatou, Kikoo-sama." Naruto said as he returned to the rooftop. Naruto saw the mark and smiled. The mark had six dots, and the design connecting everything together was very elegant, though Naruto couldn't decipher the image. The blonde then stood up again and performed the summoning technique.

"**Kuchioyse no Jutsu!**"

A red bird appeared before Naruto. Red feathers, red beak, and yellow feet.

**"**Hello Naruto-sama, I am Kasai, a messenger.**"** The summon said.

"Do you know the general geography of the Elemental Nations?" Naruto asked, and received a nod from the phoenix.

"Good, can you please get this message to Terumi Mei of Kirigakure no Sato? She is at Mizu no Kuni." Naruto asked, once again Kasai nodded.

"Thank you very much Kasai, Kirigakure is North-east-east from here." Naruto tied the message to the bird who then flew off to Mizu no Kuni.

**-10 Days Later-**

Once again, the group was having supper yet again. They had just returned from training. All of them were able to complete the tree walking exercise while Sakura was able to start on the water walking exercise. All of them had improved their taijutsu as well and learned new jutsu to use. Sasuke had learned a lightning jutsu, Sayuri and Natsuki had learned a fire element jutsu, while Kasumi learned a wind element jutsu. However both Sakura and Sai learned a new earth jutsu.

On other news, Kakashi had been whining that he had finished his early release of the new Icha Icha book, something Naruto would "pull a Kakashi", reading his book Loveless, while Naruto had also made a new song to play on his violin. Beyond that, nothing much has changed, besides the fact that Natsuki had convinced Kasumi to get to know Naruto before judging him, something that would lessen Naruto's troubles in the future. That wasn't to say she wasn't as arrogant though...

Right now, they were eating their dinner in comfortable silence, but then Inari began to talk.

"Why?" Inari asked trying to hide his tears.

"Why are you trying so hard to end up dead! A bit of training won't help you beat Gato!" Inari shouted. Everything then had their attention on the boy now. "No matter what you do or what you say, the weak will always lose to the strong! There are no heroes. All of you act all happy and laugh, you don't know what true suffering is! Not like me or the people here! So just give up, you won't be able to change anything!" Naruto was getting quite angry through this. The blonde was about to speak, but Kasumi beat him to it first.

"Listen brat, a weakling like Gato can't hope to defeat a Namikaze." Kasumi said smugly as Natsuki sighed.

"Kid, sadness and despair are not new to me. Some of us here do know what suffering is, so don't you dare go and assume things you know nothing about! You are right though, heroes aren't born. They are simply people who do good for the sake of others and those they care for. To bring change, you must have the courage to start change!" Naruto shouted. Inari's eyes widened slightly. "Kakashi had to watch some of his best friends die, IN FRONT OF HIS OWN EYES WHEN HE COULDN'T DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT! I was worth less than dirt in my family's eyes as a child, so don't give me a lesson on hopelessness." Natsuki had a sad expression on her face as Naruto paused for a moment, and then spoke. "I think that counts for suffering. Your grandfather and mother are seriously worried about you kid, you're all they have left." Naruto then grabbed Inari by the collar of his shirt.

"Your grandfather is risking his life to get that bridge built, so you and the rest of the people here can live a better life! Is his sacrifice in vain? It should not be. Was Kaiza's sacrifice in vain?! IT SHOULD NOT BE! HE SET THE EXAMPLE FOR YOU AND INSPIRED HOPE TO THE PEOPLE HERE!" Naruto roared in anger. After a moment he was able to calm down and dropped the little boy. "I'm sorry if it offends you but it is true. You must realize other people's sacrifices. Kashi, I'm going to cool off for a bit." Naruto said as he walked out. Shortly after, Inari walked out and sat on the pier, just thinking.

"You know Inari, you have to forgive Naruto. As a child, he was a lot like you are now, hopeless. His parents pushed him aside for his sisters without a second glance, but I'm still not sure why sensei did that." Kakashi said. "But he is right, to bring change, you must have courage to start it. Well, I'll leave you alone now, just don't stay out too late, your mother will worry." Kakashi said as he walked away.

**-A forest nearby-**

"**Ranton: Reiza Sakasu**" Energy covered Naruto's hand shot off as several beams, shooting at the trees. After performing the jutsu, Naruto fell on one knee panting.

"Damn, still takes too much chakra for storm release..." Naruto mumbled as he fell onto his other knee. Naruto then had a sudden idea pop to him.

"I've only made like 5 jutsu of my own... Oh well, suppose I'll make one more then." Naruto then unsealed his notebook and his pen and wrote down ideas for his new jutsu.

"Area of attack... How to execute... shape... chakra... hand-seals? Alright, looks nice." Naruto said as he stood up.

"**Storm Release: Blast Vortex**"

After completing the 15 or so hand-seals, Naruto thrust his right palm forward as storm chakra gathered in his palm, and a large blast shot from the orb, much like the Cero does. Again, Naruto fell onto his knees, heavily panting.

"Al- alright. Wonderful, maybe I should tone down the amount of chakra I use." Naruto scribbled notes onto the page again and then sealed it again. Naruto then repeated the new jutsu with less chakra, and found that the result was more satisfying as he could do it more than once without getting exhausted. Naruto then unsealed his violin and examined it for any scratches and deficiencies. Smiling after finishing his examination, Naruto began to play his violin.

**-Next Morning, Tazuna's House-  
**

"Naruto didn't come back last night did he?" Kakashi said as he took his seat.

"Nope, I'll go look for him after." Sakura volunteered, and Kakashi nodded.

"It doesn't really matter, he'll be fine, if anything he'll be back for breakfast." Kakashi added.

**-With Naruto-**

"Hello? Are you awake?" A voice spoke as Naruto slowly woke up and sat up. Beside him was a young lady with long black hair wearing a pink kimono. She was short and had large brown eyes and pale skin.

"Oh, Hello. I'm Naruto, and you Miss?" Naruto spoke.

"Haku, it's a pleasure to meet you Naruto-san." Haku said. Naruto smiled but then saw the basket of herbs.

"Who are those for?" Naruto pointed at the basket.

"A dear friend of mine got injured, and I want to help him recover." Haku said with a smile.

"Are they for Zabuza and Raiga?" Naruto asked. Haku instantly tensed and jumped to her feet.

"Easy there Haku-chan, I'm not going to kill you. I'm sure that you were there in our last scuffle, and I was serious about the Bloodline Wars of Kiri being over." Naruto said, as Haku slowly dropped her guard.

"Besides, I'm sure that Gato is going to back stab you after you kill Tazuna anyways. I saw some of his records for hiring rogue nin, weren't all that great for the missing nin." Naruto said as Haku digested this new information.

"Naruto-san. Do, do you have any precious people?" The lady asked.

"Precious people... Sure I do, close friends." The blonde replied as he began playing his violin. Haku smiled and spoke.

"That's good. When a person has something important they want to protect, then they can truly become strong." Haku said.

"Seems right. Anyways Haku, is it possible to talk you out of fighting us? I'm guessing the brow-less wonder and Raiga are almost healed." Haku giggled at Naruto's nickname for her master, but stood up.

"Unfortunately no. Oh and I'm a boy." Haku giggled again as she went to gather more herbs.

"Nice try Haku-chan..." Naruto eye smiled as he helped her pick herbs.

"Well I better go now Haku. When you return to Zabuza, tell him that if things go as planned, you'll probably be returning to Kiri under the Godaime Mizukage." Naruto said as he left the girl, who was now deep in thought.

_"Godaime Mizukage?"_ Haku wondered.

**-Tazuna's House-**

"Yo!" Naruto said as he flashed back to the house in a very Kakashi-like manner.

"Where were you this time?" Kakashi asked as he magically ate a piece of toast through his mask, not even looking away from his smut.

"Well yesterday when I went to cool off, I found a forest to train in and made a jutsu, then I fell asleep there. Then this morning I found a girl who was gathering herbs for her sick father, so I played a song for her on my violin and helped pick herbs for her. When I was coming back here, I passed a black cat, so I took the long way back." Naruto replied with an eye-smile as he took out a copy of Loveless to read. Kakashi was beaming with pride that someone picked up his bad excuses.

"That actually sounds reasonable." Sayuri replied. Then Kakashi face-faulted.

"Why is it that his excuses are believable? I've already used all of the excuses he used in that one go!" Kakashi complained.

"Your excuses are habits." Sakura replied dryly.

"Well Sayuri-nee and I will be going now." Sasuke said as he stood up and left with his sister and waved goodbye.

"So Kakashi, how far are they with their new training?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well, Sakura was able to pick up on water-walking pretty quickly, the others took some time, but Natsuki and Kasumi can barely do it. Their taijutsu is improving too. Sakura, Natsuki and Kasumi are getting better overall, Sasuke and Sayuri are faster, and Sai is stronger. As far as ninjutsu goes, they've finished learning their justu and are just trying to do faster hand-seals." Kakashi evaluated their progress while Naruto nodded.

"Seems like the expected." Naruto answered.

**-Two Days Later-**

"Get away from me! Inari stay back!" A loud scream woke up Naruto, but surprisingly only Kakashi woke up.

_"Must be exhausted from the training."_ Naruto mused as he got dressed and went down with Susanoo in hand. The blonde then saw Inari rush in to protect Tsunami.

"Brat, stay back and no one has to die!" A thug said as he held a katana in the worst stance possible.

_"Jeez these guys suck. I bet an academy student could kick their ass."_ Naruto thought to himself as he kicked both thugs away from the two. Kakashi on the other hand was casually walking down the stairs.

"Lazy bastard." Naruto mumbled as he dragged the two samurai wanna-bes outside and killed them quickly.

"Good job there Inari. What's the time Tsunami?" Naruto patted the boy's head and quickly asked the woman who glanced at the clock.

"It's 8:07." Tsunami replied after glancing at the clock.

"Crap. Kakashi, take this just in case the a nine-tailed fuzzball tries to break free. Go wake up the genin, I'm getting to the bridge. Zabuza and Raiga are probably attacking today." Naruto handed Kakashi a two squares of paper with a complex seal array and he flashed to the bridge.

**-Bridge-**

"Nani! What's going on here?" Tazuna said as his gaze fell on the bridge. A heavy mist covered majority of the bridge, but he could see the dead bodies of most of his workers, some with missing limbs, but the blood was everywhere.

"T- Tazuna-san! You should run now! There's a demon back there!" One survivor shouted as he ran for his life.

_**"****Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.**" _**"**Kukuku... It seems that we're lucky. Two brats and the bridge builder.**"** Several of Zabuza's demonic voices came from the mist.

"Your funeral will be extraordinary! The heavens will sing to it!" Another voice proclaimed from the mist. Natsuki frowned.

_"This isn't good, where's one of the oth-__"_ Tazuna's thought was cut off as a silent flash revealed Naruto, holding Susanoo.

"It appears that we will have to settle things now. But Mei-chan's gonna be mad if one of you dies here." Naruto said as he walked forward. With a flick of his zanpakuto, Naruto vanished and reappeared in the same spot, same posture. Seconds later the water clones exploded into water.

"Kasumi, Natsuki. Protect Tazuna until Kakashi get's here, then follow his orders." Naruto said as he took a step and flashed forward.

"To hell with that Naruto-baka! We're Namikazes and we have the Kyuubi's chakra!" Kasumi said as she called on the Kyuubi's cloak. Soon, her whisker marks became more distinct, her eyes were red and slitted, and her fangs grew, all while two tails lazily moved behind her.

"Kasumi! Don't! They're A-Ranked ninja!" Natsuki shouted to her twin, but was to late with her warning. Kasumi ran towards the Kiri nin with chunin level speed, but stopped as she felt someone kick her back, really hard. Kasumi growled and got up, charging in again, but this time being restrained by a yellow rope and dragged back by Naruto.

"Baka... They're out of your league even with the Kyuubi's chakra." Naruto said as he slapped a suppressing seal on her head, the demonic traits disappearing. Then Naruto made a clone to drag the jinchuuriki back.

"Sorry about that Zabuza, Raiga. You sure I can't talk you guys out of this until Mei-chan gets here?" Naruto inquired, but no response came as the two Swordsmen of the Mist did not trust the blonde.

"Oh well." Naruto said as his reiatsu circled his feet. Without using any motions, Naruto donned his Hollow mask.

**-With Zabuza and Raiga-**

"If that is what I think that is, we may be having a funeral today." Raiga said as he opened a bingo book. Zabuza was still surprised after feeling the power coming from the 'weak blonde' in his opinion.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND A BINGO BOOK?! Wait, is that a new one?" Zabuza shouted in anger as his comrade dropped the book in shock. Zabuza then picked up the book and saw the blonde's profile.

"Naruto, no last name... Living Shinigami... S-Ranked?" Zabuza mumbled in shock.

However, neither of them bothered reading the bottem which showed his victory against Yagura.

**-With Naruto-**

_"Wonder where's Haku, I only sense Raiga and Zabuza here. Hmm... Seems like she's in the forest."_ Naruto mused as he waited for the Kiri nins' argument to finish.

**"**Hey! You done there?**"** Naruto shouted as he flashed in front of them. Zabuza and Raiga both jumped back, leaving the bingo book by the blonde's feet. The blonde grinned as he saw his profile and went to strike Zabuza, who luckily already had his blade out. Raiga was unfortunate enough to receive a surprise sidekick. Then Zabuza jumped back and gave an equally large grin.

"HAHAHA! Show me why they call you the Living Shinigami!" Zabuza shouted as he grinned at the prospect of a good battle. Raiga mumbled something along the lines of "Masochist..." and unsheathed the Kiba. Both Kiri nin launched themselves at the blonde. First the Kubikiribocho came down on Susanoo, then the dual Kiba. The two Kiri ninja were barely overpowering Naruto. The blonde, still wearing his Hollow mask, channeled reiryoku into his zanpakuto and quickly overpowered both swordsmen and rushed to close the distance. Zabuza received a flying knee to the chin and followed by a tornado kick, while Raiga got a side kick to his chest, courtesy to Kakashi arriving.

"It's about time Kakashi, I thought you were gonna let me have all the fun." Naruto said.

"Mah mah, I was lost on the road of life. Sasuke and Sayuri are here while Sai and Sakura volunteered to stay with Tsunami just in case." Kakashi eye-smiled yet again.

"We'll discuss the scenery of the Road of Life later. Right now we should pay attention to the task at hand." Kakashi raised both eyebrows as he revealed his Sharingan, but decided to question it later.

"You take Zabuza, I have Raiga. Make sure the genin are on their guard, that Hunter-nin is probably going to show up." Naruto said as he shunpo'd away.

"You seem to be two of your brats! Some of them is even shaking!" Zabuza shouted to the silver haired jonin as he released his Killer intent.

**-With the Genin-**

Right now, the genin who were on the bridge were protecting Tazuna in a diamond formation of sorts. Sasuke and Sayuri were on the sides, while Natsuki and Kasumi were in front and behind the bridge builder, some were shaking under the pressure. All of them had a kunai in hand, but tensed as they saw someone appear before them. They quickly recognized this person as the Hunter-nin from before, and made sure to pay attention.

"Forgive me, but I must kill that bridge builder." The Hunter-nin said.

"You'll have to forgive us, but we can't let you do that." Sasuke said as he made hand-seals and shot a giant fireball at the masked ninja. Sayuri saw an opening and threw some kunai with explosive tags at the masked ninja. Then both Uchiha closed their eyes and channeled some chakra into their eyes. Once they opened them, it revealed a Sharingan with a lone tomoe in each eye.

_"I'll have to thank Itachi-nii and Naruto-nii for that torture they called training."_ Were the thoughts of both Uchiha, not many people knew but they achieved their Sharingan a few months after they became genin, thanks to their brother's and brother figure's training.

"Natsuki, Kasumi! We'll stay here and protect Tazuna-san!" Sayuri said as she held her kunai in front of her. The Namikaze twins nodded, but Kasumi was more excited then her calmer twin.

_"Finally I can prove myself!"_ Kasumi thought as she ran towards the Hunter-ninja.

**-With Kakashi-**

Kakashi stood in front of Zabuza with a kunai, Sharingan blazing in his left eye. Zabuza then disappeared as the mist thickened.

_"Not good... Now where will he strike?"_ Kakashi paused to think of possible attacks. _"Of course, the bridge builder!"_ Kakashi widened and rushed to Tazuna while channeling chakra into his feet. Quickly he was able to block the incoming attack towards Tazuna and the Uchiha twins. Zabuza, slowly but surely overpowered Kakashi, and slashed a part of his arm.

"Fool!" Zabuza shouted as he retreated back into the mist. In a more demonic voice he continued. **"**Do you really think you can win? Those brats you have are of no help either!**"**

"You're wrong Zabuza, those 'brats' that you've just insulted are full fledged ninja of Konoha, and we will win!" Kakashi shouted. "You two, protect Tazuna and pay attention to everything!" Kakashi warned the Uchiha who nodded. The silver scarecrow then rushed into the mist to attack Zabuza.

**-With the Namikaze Twins-**

On another part of the bridge, Natsuki and Kasumi were fighting Haku, the masked ninja. Haku then kicked Natsuki away and clashed with Kasumi, the kunai generating some sparks.

"You will lose this battle, ninja-san. I have two key advantages as of now." Haku explained as Natsuki shakily stood up and regained her bearings.

"First, there is water all around us. Secondly, I have left you with one hand to defend yourself with." Haku calmly began a chain of one-hand-seals, while Natsuki's eyes widened.

"**Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suisho**" Haku stomped on the puddle and his technique took effect. The water became a thousand sharp needles surrounding Kasumi and Natsuki and shot off at the two Namikazes. By a stoke of luck they were able to channel chakra into their feet and dodge the needles. The twins picked up on this and replicated it, using it to outmaneuver Haku. Now the masked ninja was on the defensive. Zabuza saw this and froze in shock.

_"But how? No one is as fast as Haku!"_ Zabuza thought to himself as he shook himself out of his thoughts and advanced towards Kakashi.

The twins fought together, giving Haku a very hard time. When one of the twins finished a combo, they would switch and the other would continue, letting the first one rest. Haku snapped out of her thoughts as she tried to focus on the fight, but was kicked away. Quickly standing back up, Haku spoke.

"Forgive me, but I must end this." Haku said as she began doing some odd hand-seals as the twins stopped and watched, unsure of what will come next.

"**Hyoton: Makyo Hyosho**" Haku said as the water surrounding the Namikaze twins rose and formed several mirrors of ice, creating a dome over the Namikaze twins, and all of them had a reflect of Haku. Each reflection of Haku threw a hail of senbon at the two Namikazes who were unable to dodge them all.

"Gah!" The twins screamed in pain as the first barrage ended, and the two were heavily panting. Natsuki then pulled out several kunai, slapping an explosive tag on each of them, and launched them at each mirror. Once the dust settled, it revealed that the mirrors were completely unscathed.

"Kasumi! Use a wind jutsu after my fire jutsu!" Natsuki shouted as she quickly did the hand-seals for the great fireball.

**"Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!**"

"**Futon: Renkuden!**"

A compressed bullet of air was shot into the giant fireball, amplifying the flames and expanding the fireball as it smashed into an ice mirror. Shortly after, it was revealed that the mirror had cracked ever so slightly.

"Fools. Even if you destroy an ice mirror, I can still move to another and defeat you." Haku said as another barrage of senbon rained upon the twins. However, this time there was a lot more senbon. Again the twins tried to block as many as they could, but failed miserably. When the barrage ended, Haku threw two senbon at Kasumi's neck, knocking her out instantly. The redhead twin then ran to her sister.

"Kasumi-nee! Wake up!" Natsuki's eyes watered as she tried to shake her sister awake. "Kasumi-nee? How could you?!" Natsuki shouted.

"Is this the first time you've seen someone precious to you fall in battle? That is the path of a ninja..." Haku said as she retreated into another mirror.

"Shut up..." Natsuki said rather darkly. Soon her anger harnessed the Kyuubi's chakra, forming a cloak with two tails freely moving. Her eyes became red slits, her whiskers more feral, she grew fangs and her fingernails grew as well.

_"What is this chakra? Whatever it is it's not normal..."_ Were the thoughts on Haku's, Zabuza's and Raiga's minds.

_"Did the seal break?!"_ Kakashi thought to himself as he dodged a swing from Zabuza.

_"Crap, not good. I gotta finish this quickly and check on Natsuki and Kasumi..."_ Naruto thought as he knocked away Raiga.

"**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu!**" Kakashi slammed his palm on the surface of the water as eight ninja hounds appeared in a large plum of smoke.

"Sorry Zabuza, but it appears I can no longer waste anymore time here than I already have." Kakashi said as the ninken dispersed.

**-With Naruto-**

"**Raiton: Jibashi!**" A wave of electricity connected with Raiga's sword and shot off at Naruto at high speeds.

"He's above you." A very quiet voice said. Raiga then repeated the technique and launched it skywards, the wave just scratching Naruto's shoulder. The Kiri nin then stabbed his swords on the ground and began a rather lengthy set of hand-seals.

"**Bakudo #1: Sai!**" Naruto performed an incantationless binding at Raiga, who struggled to stand up.

"You think this is going to hold ME?!" Raiga shouted as he was able to break free from the spell.

"Nope, this will. **Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!**" Naruto pointed his index finger at Raiga and the tip glowed yellow energy, shooting off into six different parts and six rectangular beams of light at Raiga, immobilizing him immediately.

"Sorry man, Mei-chan won't like it if you die." Naruto said as he gave the swordsman a quick chop to the neck, knocking him out. Naruto them placed a restraining seal on him and carried him over to the bridge. Before he left, Naruto checked the Kiri nin's bag and found a little boy with purple hair and brown eyes.

"Mister, please don't kill Raiga-sama..." The boy said meekly.

"Don't worry, I just knocked him out so I can wait for the Godaime Mizukage. What is your name little one?" Naruto said with a smile. Then the boy whispered something.

"Ranmaru? Is that your name?" Naruto asked the boy, receiving a slow nod. "Well then Ranmaru-san, we'll be moving." Naruto said as he held Raiga's prone form over his shoulder, Ranmaru hiding in the bag again. Just as he began tree jumping, he heard the distinct chirping of birds coming from a scarecrow with a fist covered in lightning.

_"Damn it..."_ Naruto thought as he began flashing back to the bridge.

**-At the Same Time, Namikaze Twins-**

"I'm sorry... I wanted to protect the person important to me... I wanted to live for him... to see his dream accomplished... That is my dream." Haku said as she laid on the ground.

"Shinobi are nothing but tools, tools that can be replaced. I am nothing but a broken tool... Please, I beg of you, finish it..." Haku said sadly, unable to fulfill her master's dream. Then she heard the loud chirping of birds, along with a shout of "**Raikiri!**" which did not belong to her master.

"I apologize, but it appears my master has one more use for me." Haku said as she stood up and speed away, leaving a crying and cursing Natsuki, with only one lone tail waving back and forth.

**-With Kakashi-**

"**Raikiri!**" Kakashi charged his hand with lightning chakra to form his signature technique. The silver haired jonin began charging at Zabuza, who was pinned down by all eight of Kakashi's ninken. Moments before Kakashi's attack reached Zabuza, the Hunter-nin jumped in the way to intercept the attack, but then what happened after was shocking to everyone. Naruto appeared in a flash and grabbed Haku while grabbing Kakashi's arm with the Raikiri, saving the hunter-nin while throwing Kakashi off course.

"**Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro**" Suddenly, Kakashi's ninken disappeared in a poof of smoke as six beams of light pierced Zabuza, immobilizing him as well.

"Sorry Kakashi, can't have you killing Zabuza when his brother and the _Godaime_ Mizukage are watching us." Naruto put much emphasis on "Godaime" to show that the Yondaime Mizukage was actually overthrown. Both Kakashi and Zabuza turned their eyes to the bridge and saw three people, two swordsman and a woman with a hat signifying that she was the new Mizukage.

"Hey! Long time no see brat!" Hayashi shouted as Naruto made some clones to drag his fellow jonin and the two Kiri swordsman back to the bridge.

**-At the Bridge-**

Sakura, Sai, Tsunami and Inari were currently at the bridge, worried for their friends/allies. They soon regrouped with Tazuna, Sasuke and Sayuri, while the Namikaze twins were just ahead of them.

Natsuki was shaking, bawling her eyes out as she kneeled beside the seemingly dead form of her sister. The red chakra slowly disappearing into nothingness. Just then a thought hit her.

_"Kakashi-sensei said that senbon can put people in a death-like state so..."_ Natsuki wandered off on the thought as she shakily reached for a senbon and gently pulled it out, repeating the process for the other one. Seconds later, nothing changed, as Natsuki's heart dropped and she cried once more. Then she heard a cough from in front of her and saw that her sister was indeed alive.

"Onee-chan, why are you crying?" Kasumi curiously asked her sister as the redhead tackled her sister into a hug.

"K- Ka- Kasumi-nee-chan! You're alive!" Natsuki continued to sob as she hugged her sister, and soon Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari and the other genin walked over.

"Good to see that you're still alive, Kasumi-san." Sakura said. The blonde girl could only nod as she tried to remember what had happened.

_"Natsuki-nee-chan and I fought that hunter-nin, but then what?"_ Kasumi's mind seemed to have a blank, but was then snapped out of her thoughts as the group heard a very loud laugh.

"Oh man gaki! I have to thank you two for saving my brother, and kicking his ass!" A man shouted in between fits of laughter. The genin turned their heads in that direction and saw something interesting. Naruto was carrying the hunter-nin bridal style, with three clones carrying Kakashi, Zabuza and Raiga, the last two with restraining seals.

Beside Naruto was a tall man, who looked quite similar to that Zabuza guy their sensei fought, but had a tanto on his back instead of an oversize cleaver. The man was also dressed similarly to Zabuza, just with more of a blue tint on the clothes. Beside the tall man was another tall man with darker skin, with a tanto strapped to his back as well. This man wore standard Kiri equipment with his flak jacket opened, revealing a black shirt. Finally beside Naruto, was a beautiful, slender woman with auburn hair, green eyes, and a large bust. The woman wore a long-sleeved, dark blue dress with a matching skirt and mesh equipment underneath. She was holding a little boy with purple hair as well.

"Kakashi, you've gotten very dull..." Naruto drawled out. The scarecrow had the decency to chuckle in embarrassment. Everyone would've saw him blush a bit if it wasn't for the mask.

"Hey gaki! Who are they?!" Tazuna shouted as the blonde got closer.

"Right, this beautiful lady here is Terumi Mei, _Godaime Mizukage_ of Kiri. The guy that looks like the guy that Kakashi beat up is Momochi Hayashi, and the other guy is Tetsu. You got all of that Zabuza?" Naruto said as the Demon of the Mist widened his eyes.

"Kukuku. Gaki, you gonna ask her on a date when this is over?" Hayashi joked leaving a stuttering Naruto and a blushing Mei.

"Sh- shut up. Just make sure you take Haku, Ranmaru and your luggage back to Kiri." Naruto stuttered out. Then he looked around, as if he was missing something.

"My my. I gave you one simple task Zabuza, and you fail me once again. Demon of the Mist? Pathetic, more like Masked Imp." A voice said. The group then turned their heads to where the voice was coming from and saw a very, very short and stubby man wearing very expensive clothes. Behind him was an army of thugs and samurai.

"Perhaps I should handle this. Tazuna, I'll try to keep the damage low. You should stay out of this." Naruto casually said as he took a step up.

"Sorry man, we traveled all this way and not a single scuffle. We want in on this! You guys might want to watch this though." Hayashi said in a gruff voice as he and Tetsu took out their tantos.

"Would you look at that? Five lovely woman, ripe for the taking. Kill all the men and save the women! We can have fun with them later!" Gato said with a lecherous grin as the group of shinobi had expressions of utter disgust. This proved to be crossing the line for Naruto as he planned on asking Mei on a date before she left. His bangs shadowed his eyes, and he had an evil grin, and if anyone saw his face, they would have seen red glowing eyes and the Shinigami looming over him. Soon, black reiatsu appeared around Naruto and circled his feet, shocking everyone at the energy and the feelings radiated.

"Just a warning, if he's doing what I think he's doing, then this isn't for the weak of stomach, or will." Mei added as everyone save for Mei, Tetsu and Hayashi became nervous under the pressure.

The black energy soon engulfed Naruto for about five seconds, and quickly disappeared, revealing Naruto in his Full Hollow Transformation. Naruto was clad in a black, ankle-length shihakusho with the cuffs of the sleeves flaring back, and wore black pants underneath. He had a white collar which flared outwards and white arm-guards in a crisscross pattern, but that was not the most shocking part. His skin was white and his short blonde hair was now much longer, and donned a mask with red lines vertically down the eyes and horns.

"De- de, DEMON!" A Thug shouted as wide spread panic was created in Gato's army.

"Shut up! He's just one person! Whoever gives me that freak's head get's an extra million ryo!" Gato shouted as the army then charged in, hoping not to die.

Naruto on the other hand, just extended a finger and began charging a dark blue orb with a black outline. Now everyone around Naruto shuddered as some tried not to faint near the overwhelming presence. Fear could be felt by everyone on the bridge, while the shinobi also felt an unexplainable feeling of safety. Then when the black orb was a little larger than a shuriken, Naruto uttered two words.

**"Gran Rey, Cero."**

The words took immediate effect as the orb exploded and shot towards the army, eradicating everyone and everything in its path. All of the shinobi watched in awe, such a destructive jutsu for what seemed to be little energy, while some of the genin found the need to empty their stomachs. The Cero decimated the army of thugs, leaving less than 50 for Hayashi and Tetsu to enjoy. Then Naruto flashed to in front of Gato, the businessman crawling backwards. Naruto then grabbed him by his neck and held him in the air.

"No. No! P-Please sp-spare me! I'll give you anything you want! Money, women, power, anything!" Gato pleaded as he tried to talk his way out of death.

**"**Sorry, but I have all that I can ever want. I won't be the one to kill you but,**"** Naruto then turned his head to the left where the villagers had gathered with pitchforks, torches, and other things that could pass as weapons.

**"**They'll be the one's to decide your fate.**"** Naruto said as a villager then shouted.

"Cut off his arms and feed him to the fish!" Then every villager ran to the stubby bastard and proceeded to do just that. Naruto on the other hand flashed and returned to his group, and letting his transformation release, leaving Naruto the way he was previously.

"Oh dear Kami." Sayuri said in relief of the overwhelming energy.

"Sorry 'bout that. I seemed to have taken things a tad too far." Naruto sheepishly said as screams of pain were heard as Gato lost his limbs. Then the exhaustion caught up to him as he fell on the ground, heavily panting.

"Nah, I think you didn't do enough." Hayashi added.

"I honestly didn't think you were telling the truth gaki." Zabuza said as he hissed in pain.

"G-Gaki?" Naruto's eye twitched as his breathing returned to normal. "Listen you brow-less wonder." Zabuza's eye twitched at this. "This "Gaki" can still kick your ass six ways into Sunday." Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles in emphasis. Zabuza paled and immediately shut up.

"Well it's been a while Mei-chan." Naruto said as he hugged the woman.

"It has, you should write more. By the way, what was that about asking me on a date?" Mei said quite slyly, while Hayashi and Kakashi gave a perverted giggle. Naruto tried to say something, but could only sputter nonsense.

"Shh... How about you spend a few days with me? We won't be leaving until these guys have a full recovery, and the people are going to be celebrating for days." Mei said as Naruto blushed, not trusting his voice and nodded.

"Well that settles it, let's go back." Kakashi added in between giggles. No one really bothered cleaning up the bridge, too busy celebrating.

"By the way, where are you guys going to be staying?" Naruto inquired the Kiri ninja who stopped to think.

"Don't know." Mei said carelessly as Naruto along with Tetsu and Hayashi facefaulted.

"Wait... Tazuna! I brought you and the villagers a present from Gato!" Naruto shouted as the bridge builder ran towards the blonde.

"Well?! What is it?" Tazuna demanded. Naruto then chuckled and unsealed a scroll.

"Every single ryo and important documents from his mansion. The building beside it is basically a storage facility." Naruto said as Tazuna graciously accepted the scroll. The old man was crying tears of joy, as Naruto quickly left the bridge, not wanting to risk whatever is left of his sanity.

**-Two Weeks Later-  
**

Over the two weeks that Mei and her group stayed, Naruto finally had enough courage to ask out the busty Mizukage, the other Kiri ninja and Kakashi mercilessly teasing the two. They had gone on a few dates, and it was safe to say that they had a very good start. Both enjoying each other's company, and threatening the other jonin.

* * *

**-Flashback-**

Naruto was looking around town for a certain lady. It was around 3 in the afternoon, and Naruto wanted to ask Mei on a date, after much teasing from Kakashi. Naruto was still thinking of how he was going to about this when he suddenly bumped into someone.

"Um sorry, didn't see where I was going." Naruto said as he stood up and opened his eyes. Seeing the woman he was looking for, Naruto then helped her up.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." Mei said with a gentle smile.

"Err, Mei-chan?' Naruto said as the Mizukage leaned in to listen. "Iwaswonderingifyouwantedtoge tsomethingtoeat." Naruto rapidly spoke those words, a blush forming on his face.

"Like a date?" Mei's face slowly lit up, after deciphering what the blonde had just said. The busty woman then received a nod.

"Well yeah. I mean if you want it to be." Naruto said as he mentally cheered inwardly.

"Hmm... You know where I'm staying here. So why don't you pick me up at 7 then _Naruto-kun_?" Mei said sensually as she walked away, teasing the blonde as she left.

_"YES! That went better than expected!"_ Naruto mentally cheered as he then heard some of his roommates join the conversation.

_" *Sniff* I'm so proud, gaki's finally growing up."_ Susanoo wiped a nonexistant tear, and then Yami let out a perverted giggle.

_**"Yo Naruto. Since I'm part you does that mean I get a piece of that****?"**_ Yami added in between fits of giggles. Then Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi smacked both spirits in the back of their heads and proceeded to torture them and do away with their perverted nature. Naruto could only sweatdrop as he then went to plan the date.

**-7 PM That Day-**

Naruto was able to find a way to wear his black shihakusho without the hollowfication, and decided to wear it seeing as how he had no casual clothing. Then he found a flower shop and just happened to find a bouquet of red and blue roses. Naruto smiled as he mentally saw his evening. He would take Mei to dinner, which he would actually have a clone cook it. Naruto shrugged as he thought of putting some of his culinary skills at work. Then he would take her for a walk along the beach and just chat as they went.

_"Simple, but it has that romantic accent with the sunset along the beach."_ Tsukiyomi added her two ryo to his plan. Naruto then found himself at the house Mei was staying at and knocked on the door.

**-That Evening-**

The date had gone off a lot better than Naruto had imagined. Naruto had asked everyone to stay out of the house for the evening so Naruto was able to transform it to a romantic setting, with a clone cooking all the meals just before Mei arrived. They had passed time through simple chatter, not about their work but more about their lives in general. The meals were amazing if Mei's reaction to her first bite was anything to go by. She had moaned as she tasted it, forcing the blonde to blush a bit. After dinner, Naruto took Mei to the beach while continuing their conversation, leaving the clone to wash the dishes.

Once they were on the beach, both people could not help but blush at the setting. Mei was impressed at Naruto's planning, finding it to be a wonderful evening spent so far. Naruto on the other hand was mentally berating himself for not having a clone play his violin. Regardless, they continued their stroll where they eventually began a heated make up session which seemingly lasted for hours to the two. Eventually they had to break for air.

"W- wow." Naruto said with a blush.

"Wow indeed. You're an amazing kisser Naruto-kun." Mei added. Quickly steadying their breathing, Naruto then spoke.

"So um... Does this mean?" Naruto stammered out as his blush grew. He was cut off as Mei kissed him again.

"Well? Does that answer you?" Mei asked slightly teasingly. Naruto could only nod as his roommates were cheering in the mindscape, somehow finding a way to get sake in there.

"It's getting late Mei-chan. Would you do me the honour of allowing me to escort you back?" Naruto asked.

"Charmer, and of course." Mei said as the two left the beach, both far too happy to notice a perverted giggle.

* * *

"So I guess this is it huh?" Mei said as both groups stood by the bridge

"So it seems." Naruto said, but was surprised when Mei leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Naruto snapped out of his shock and returned the kiss, causing the busty woman to moan. They realized that they weren't alone as they heard a cough, and a perverted giggle. Their glares were then directed at Kakashi, Tetsu, Hayashi and Zabuza, the four ninja paling.

"Neh Mei-chan. Do you happen to be going to the upcoming chunin exams? You know, the one in a few months at Konoha." Naruto asked his friend.

"Of course! It's going to be the first International Chunin Exam, to promote peace." Mei smiled, with Naruto returning the smile and slowly leaning in for a kiss.

"Oi, Gaki! You can exchange saliva, just not on the bridge! We just finished it!" Tazuna called out with a crowd stood behind them. The blonde instantly lit up and made a very good replacement for a tomato.

"Tazuna-san, what are you calling the bridge?" Natsuki asked, truly curious.

"I originally wanted to call it the "Super Bridge of the Wave", but it didn't go through. So we chose "The Bridge of Hope", since you guys inspired hope to everyone here." Tazuna explained, slightly sad that his idea did not go through with the villagers.

"A good name indeed." Kakashi said as he reread his literature.

"Well Mei, I suppose this is goodbye for now. Just don't be surprised if you get more messages from a phoenix every now and then." Naruto whispered to Mei's ear. Mei smiled and kissed the blonde yet again.

"Naruto-nii, we're leaving!" Sasuke called out as Naruto broke the kiss and then turned to see his missing teammates, whom were crossing the bridge already.

"Bye Mei-chan! Make sure you look out for Raiga and the brow-less wonder!" Naruto said as he then flashed towards his fellow Konoha nins.

"Oh yeah Kakashi, have fun writing your report, I hear Jiraiya's already released his next book." Naruto flat out lied to the scarecrow, and got the reaction he wanted. The scarecrow was now truly white, and if one was to closely examine him, he was paler than Orochimaru after reading the Toad Sage's book for the first time. Team 6 had no idea why he was so pale, but the genin of Team 7 were able to connect the dots.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Illusion: Sunset of Youth **- (My own). An illusion featuring Gai and Lee doing the Sunset of Youth, crashing waves and wiggling eyebrows included.**  
**

**Storm Release: Blast Vortex **-(My own). A low powered, storm element version of Cero. It exhausted Naruto because he wasn't used to using Storm release jutsu

**Sharingan **- Copy Wheel Eye

**Kirigakure no Jutsu **- Hiding in the Mist Technique**  
**

**Suiro no Jutsu **- Water Prison Technique**  
**

**Choju Giga **- Super Beast Imitation Drawing**  
**

**Hado #32: Okasen **- Yellow Fire Flash**  
**

**Einshohaki **- Incantation Abandonment**  
**

**Suiton: Suiryuden **- Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet**  
**

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu **- Summoning Technique**  
**

**Ranton: Reiza Sakasu **- Storm Release: Laser Circus**  
**

**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu** - Water Clone Technique

**Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suisho **- Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death**  
**

**Hyoton: Makyo Hyosho **- Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals**  
**

**Futon: Renkuden **- Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet**  
**

**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu **- Summoning: Eath Release: Fanged Pursuit**  
**

**Raiton: Jibashi **- Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder**  
**

**Bakudo #1: Sai **- Block**  
**

**Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro **- Six Staff Light Prison**  
**

**Raikiri **- Lightning Blade**  
**

**Gran Rey Cero **- Royal Hollow Flash

* * *

END! I'm surprised it took so long, but if your curious about progress towards the beginning of Part 2, we're about two to three chapters away.

Liked the chapter? Drop a review if you want! Show support if you liked it!


	12. Ch 12 Setting the Stage

A/N:

I've already chosen a clan name for Naruto, and there are some pranks in here, so enjoy my creativity, or lack of... By the way, anyone know why random words/text formatting keeps on disappearing? Same for the line breaks.

**Malakish:** In a sense, having a zanpakuto is like having another soul since it is a part of your soul. As for my reasons, I'm trying to make it so that Naruto won't rely on ninjutsu too often, using Kido instead. That's why I won't have Naruto using many jutsu. As for having zanpakuto, it ties into the story.

**Rikudo Naruto:** Yes Naruto will remain indifferent towards Minato and Kushina, and slightly to Jiraiya as well.

**Lednacek:** You'll have to sue me for not thinking the times very clearly...

**Forbiddenfruitunloved:** I'm trying to keep the pairing surrounding Naruto and Mei for now, as I plan on having Naruto with two or three girls by the end of this (If I ever get there). Also, I thank you for pointing it out concerning Naruto's growth in canon. As for the Namikaze/Uzumaki thing, I thought that the children would take their father's name, but if you could PM me about it or something, that would be great! :D

** 55:** That... is a secret!

**Ncpfan:** For Minato and Kushina apologizing to Naruto, or even trying to reach out to him, I want to save that for during/ just after the three year time skip. As for Kasumi disobeying order's and getting it on permanent record, remember that Minato is her father and the Hokage, he would be lenient towards Kasumi.

**KillerDonut:** Would you be happy or sad that I made a variant of the Sunset of Youth?

**Rivereagles999: **You bet your ass that they'll make an appearence soon, they'll appear sooner than you think.

**Duelwarrior: **About Kasumi's superiority complex, I wanted to make it near canon Sasuke's level, but just not as bad, though I seemed to have failed that. Regardless, Kasumi will be redeemable eventually.

Disclaimer! I own nothing but OCs (That's right TAKASHI, TETSU! I OWN YOUR ASSES!)

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch. 12 Setting the Stage  
**

* * *

"Is that true Natsuki-chan?" The Hokage said as he observed the group in front of him. Two jonin and six genin, or more specifically one Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, and the genin of Teams 6 and 7.

"Hai tou-san. Everything Naruto said about Kasumi-nee-chan's actions is true." Natsuki said somewhat sadly.

"I see, and is that all, Kakashi, Naruto?" Minato said to the jonin.

"Hai Hokage-sama." Both jonin said.

"Good you can give me your reports tomorrow. Genin you have the week off. Team 6, Tenzo will be back in a day. Kasumi, please stay for a moment." Minato said as the entire group nodded. Naruto left with a signature shimmer while Kakashi turned to face the genin.

"Good job everyone! You guys have the week off like Minato-sensei said so enjoy it!" Kakashi eye smiled as he disappeared in a plume of smoke to a certain bookstore.

Shortly after the genin left, save for Kasumi, Minato sighed as he rested his head on his hands.

"Oh Kasumi... what am I going to do with you?" The Kage said to himself as the blonde jinchuuriki shifted nervously.

"*Cough* Kasumi, there will be people in this world that you won't like, I'll say that right now. But you can't just disobey direct orders from a superior, especially on a battlefield." Minato said as he looked at his daughter, while Kasumi found the floor miraculously interesting.

"Kasumi-chan, we'll take more about your punishment at home. Dismissed." Minato said as Kasumi quickly walked out of the room. The Hokage then pulled open a drawer and picked out Kasumi's shinobi record and filled out the appropriate paperwork for disobeying a superior.

Once finished, Minato filed away the folder and then turned his head to the window, as if expecting someone. Surely enough, a toad sage appeared.

"Yo Minato!" The sage said.

"Hello sensei, what brings you here this time?" Minato asked.

"It's about summons in general." Jiraiya instantly turned serious, not like the pervert Minato knew him as. "The entire summon realm has been in uproar. They say that there is a new summoner for the legendary Phoenix contract." Jiraiya said.

"The Phoenix Contract?! I thought that was just a legend. Are you sure?!" Minato bombarded the hermit with questions of uncertainty.

"That's what the Elder Toads told me. From what the toads have gathered, there has only been one summoner, the same goes for the Dragon Contract, also supposedly a legend. Now I'm not sure if there's a summoner for the Dragons or not, or if it even exists, but there is one for the Phoenixes. They say that the Phoenix and the Dragons go way back to the time of the Rikudo Sennin, and both are very powerful." Jiraiya said. After a slight pause, he continued.

"That's not the end of it. The Elder Toads also had another prophecy. They said "The guardian of the world, avatar of the Shinigami, shall re-emerge from the world." That's probably adding to the one before. *Sigh* It's like pieces of a Kami damned puzzle, but we don't have all the pieces." Jiraiya grumbled. "Moving away from the summons business, Orochimaru's on the move again. He's apparently made a village, Otogakure. It's likely that he'll send ninja for the chunin exam to take revenge or something. That's the last bit of info for now, so if you would excuse me, I must continue research for my latest book." Jiraiya lost his serious tone near the end and left through the window, leaving a depressed Hokage, and another full stack of paperwork.

**-With Naruto-**

Having changed into a black shihakusho, much like the one he dons in his Hollow transformation, Naruto then left for the park, already knowing that he would find his friends there.

"NO! IT'S MY DANGO!" A loud, slightly hysterical scream was heard from the park, so Naruto hurried towards the park. In a matter of seconds, Naruto arrived and found an interesting scene. It appears to be a cluster of odd events. Yugao were arguing against Anko for the last stick of dango, while trying not to freak out at two green clad monsters, I mean youth ninja as they hugged in the imaginary sunset. Then off to the side was Itachi chewing on some pocky while Hayate was munching on an odd looking rice ball which was half red and white.

Naruto then decided to play a prank on everyone. He decided to use Orochimaru and Jiraiya in the sunset of youth illusion, with the crashing waves and Orochimaru's freakishly long tongue sticking out. Silently putting his plan into action, Naruto materialized Tsukiyomi.

"**Envelope the world in your presence, Tsukiyomi!**" Naruto whispered as the scene then changed from a park in the afternoon to his concoction, all while wordlessly making a clone holding a camera.

"O-Orochi-kun!"

"Jiraiya-chan!"

The illusion took immediate effect as every ninja started screaming their heads off, some saying something along the lines of "Dear Icha Icha why?!". Naruto instantly fell to the ground, laughing as he clutched his sides and tears formed as he saw the reactions of his friends. Unable to hold the illusion while laughing, the monstrosity disappeared as it revealed Naruto's laughing form to his friends.

"What in the name of Kami was that?! Wait... Naruto?!" Hayate shouted as the blonde shakily stood up, wiping a tear as he contained his laughter.

"Man that was priceless!" Naruto chuckled. Then Itachi joined in.

"Naruto-kun, while I applaud you for finding a way to destroy Gai-san's and Lee-san's sunset illusion, that was a truly disgusting image you gave us." Itachi scolded the blonde.

"I've never seen something that disturbing ever... Anko, I'm not hungry you can have that dango..." Yugao said as she shook in Hayate's arms.

"Not hungry after seeing that... but Naruto, feel free to swing by T&I anytime. Ibiki would have loved that." Anko said as she just shrugged.

"Anyways... how was your mission?" Itachi changed the subject.

"Was pretty good. Ran into Zabuza and Raiga on the way to the wave." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"Two A-Ranked nin! Weren't you with two of the genin teams?!" Hayate shouted.

"Yeah, but does my S-Rank mean nothing?!" Naruto replied. "Anyways, I met Mei, Tetsu and Hayashi again. I told you guys about them right?" Naruto added, receiving nods from his friends.

"Not to bother you, but we have a jonin meeting in five minutes." Itachi reminded his friends. Naruto then looked up and saw the sun, indicating the time.

"Ah so we do, let's go." Naruto said as the group of now four jonin walked towards the Hokage's office.

**-Hokage's Office-**

In five minutes, the group of four arrived and saw most of the jonin already present. There was Shikaku, Gai, Anko, Kurenai, Tenzo, Asuma, and many other jonin awaiting them. The blonde leader sat at his desk, ferociously battled the stacks of paperwork surrounding him.

"Oh Hello Naruto-san, it is quite youthful of you to arrive, unlike my eternal rival, Kakashi!" Gai declared.

"If I'm right, he'll be here earlier than usual." Naruto said as he whipped out a copy of Loveless and began reading. Then the commander walked up towards the blonde.

"Naruto-san, would you care for a match of shogi after the meeting?" Shikaku asked as Naruto looked up from his page.

"I'm sorry but I must decline. A match with you is very mentally exhausting." Naruto tried to talk his way out of playing shogi with the Nara. Luckily, Shikaku didn't bother questioning the horrible excuse.

**-One Hour Later-**

"Sorry I'm late Minato-sensei. I was walking here from the bookstore, but then I saw an old lady by a tree trying to get her cat out. Like the gentleman I am, I decided to help her, but then realized that it was a black cat. So I walked the long way around, but found some underage civilians trying to get in a bar. Of course I decided to keep them out and then I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi eye smiled at his sensei as Minato sighed.

"I can never get you to come early can I?" Minato wondered, receiving a chuckle from Kakashi.

"Anyways." Minato said, getting the attention of everyone present. "In a little over two months is the first International Chunin Exam. It will be hosted here in Konoha. That much you know already I hope?" Everyone nodded, allowing the Hokage to continue. "Good, I'm going to send Jiraiya to locate Tsunade again, considering that this would be a perfect opportunity for Iwa to attack, along with the new village of Oto. Oto is led by Orochimaru from what Jiraiya has gathered and may attack out of revenge, much like Iwa would most likely do. So I would like everyone to be on their guard one during the chunin exams." Minato paused as he let everyone digest this new information.

"Next, we must discuss the proctors for the exams, as Konoha will be hosting them." Minato said as Anko perked up.

"Hokage-sama, the second part is the survival exam right?" Anko chirped and received a nod. "I'll take that one then!" Anko happily declared as she thought of ways to make some genin squeal. Everyone sweatdropped as a very dangerous aura hung over the dango lover, while Minato wrote her name for part two.

"I suppose I'll take the first exam, seeing as how it's based off a written test." Ibiki said as Minato nodded. A few moments passed as everyone waited for someone to volunteer for the third part. A minute passed, but still no one stepped forward. Then, both Naruto and Hayate stepped forward. Naruto then stepped back with a smile, letting his friend speak.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to be the proctor of the third exam." Hayate said.

"And you Naruto-san?" Minato inquired the other blonde.

"Eh, I was gonna volunteer if no one else would, but then Hayate here stepped up." Naruto replied. The Hokage nodded as he wrote Hayate's name for the exam.

"Now that's out of the way, would jonin senseis wanting to apply their genin team to the exam step forward." Minato said as Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi and Tenzo stepped forward.

"I, Might Gai would like to apply the youthful genin of Team 9 consisting of Hyuga Neji, Higurashi Tenten, and Rock Lee to the chunin exams." Gai declared as Minato considered this.

"Very well then." Minato said as he wrote down the required information.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, would like to apply my genin team to the exams. Team 10 consists of Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru." Asuma said

"I, Yuhi Kurenai, would like to apply Team 8 to the chunin exams. The team consists of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzaka Kiba, and Aburume Shino." Kurenai added.

"I, Hatake Kakashi would like to apply Team 7 consisting of Uchiha Sasuke and Sayuri, and Haruno Sakura." Kakashi lazily said.

"I, Tenzo would like to apply Team 6 of Sai, Namikaze Kasumi and Natsuki to the exams." Tenzo said.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Wait a minute. Those last four teams are not ready!" Iruka exclaimed. "I've taught each genin in Teams 6, 7, 8, and 10 and I know that they aren't ready for the exams, especially when teams from every major shinobi village are participating." The instructor added.

"I agree with Iruka-san, the Chunin exams are very hard. It's why I let my genin stay as genin for a year." Gai added.

"Iruka-kun, while I do agree with you, they are not just academy students." Hiruzen said. Then the elderly Sarutobi continued. "They are now shinobi, growing under their sensei's tutelage. I trust that they would apply their teams if they believed their team ready for the exams." Hiruzen said.

"B-" Iruka was cut off.

"Iruka-san, they are no longer your students. They've been under their jonin sensei's for around half a year. I believe that their sensei's feel that their genin are prepared for this." Minato said as he wrote the teams down. "Anyways, The application forms will be made next week."

**-Next Week-**

"AAARRGG! What the hell is taking them so long!" Ino whined. All of the genin were in Training Ground 7. Their reason's for being there are known by their jonin senseis, but they weren't here. Team 7 sat patiently, a lesson they have learned after being under Kakashi for so long. Sai was off drawing under a tree, Team 9 was sitting with each other, some thinking of ways to get back at their sensei's, and Team 8 was talking with Team 7. The Namikaze twins were talking to each other, mainly about a certain discussion.

* * *

**Flashback**

Two days ago, the twins were eating dinner with their parents in a comfortable silence, though Natsuki was unsure whether to ask her father about some questions that have been plaguing her mind. After slurping in some noodles of ramen, she then found the courage to speak.

"Umm, tou-san? Can I ask you something?" Natsuki said. Then Minato smiled at her and nodded.

"Well, it's about something from a while ago. You said something about a prophecy from some geezer toads." Natsuki said as both Minato and Kushina tried to hide their surprise.

"What's it about?" Natsuki said, even though she already knew, but she asked so Kasumi knew as well.

"Well, remember how your tou-san uses the Toad summons? Well, every now and then, the elder toads have a prophecy about a very important person, but this time, it was a pair." Minato said. "The Elders said that two children would eventually become saviours of the world, or destroyers of the world." Minato finished. Kasumi then stared in absolute shock. Even though Minato didn't say it, he implied that those two people were Natsuki and herself.

"One more thing..." Natsuki mumbled. "What happened to nii-san? I want to know the truth." Natsuki said with a sad expression.

Minato and Kushina were shocked, they didn't think that Natsuki really cared for Naruto, or that the twins really remembered much about their apparent brother.

"W- Well..." Kushina said as she tried to explain.

The Namikaze family then finished their dinner in a very uncomfortable silence.

* * *

**-Training Ground 7-**

"Sorry we're late everyone! We had to get some forms for you guys." Kakashi eye-smiled to the genin, most sweatdropping while Team 7 was debating on whether it's a genjutsu or not.

"KAI!" The genin of Team 7 shouted in unison as they tried to dispel the illusion.

"What? I'm not that bad am I?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course you are, that was the first reasonable excuse you've ever had." Sasuke said.

"Anyways, as you may have heard, in two months Konoha will be hosting the first International Chunin Exams. We've already gotten application forms for you so we'll give those to you right now." Kurenai said as the genin went to get a sheet of paper.

"You're allowed to enter if you want, but it isn't necessary. Team 9 over there stayed as genin for a year." Asuma said as he pointed to the team.

"Regardless, we will be training you much more until the exams. You'll be doing ninjutsu with me, taijutsu with Gai over there." Kakashi pointed to said jonin. "Genjutsu with Kurenai and physical training with Asuma." Kakashi then pointed to the specified jonin.

"We'll be switching after a certain amount of time, so here's the schedule." Kakashi then showed everyone the schedule.

_Physical Training - 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM  
_

_Taijutsu - 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM  
_

_Chakra Control - 10:00 AM to 11:00  
_

_Break - 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM  
_

_Genjutsu - 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM  
_

_Ninjutsu - 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM_

"As you may notice, Physical training is only an hour. It's mainly your stretches to prepare for Taijutsu. Chakra control is only an hour and a half to aid your chakra control for genjutsu and ninjutsu, which consist of theory for now, and later on we will teach you some new jutsu." Kurenai added.

"Also, your training is five days a week, but we will be here on Saturdays for our own training as well. Just in case you needed some extra help. Since you have the day after 5 PM, you can use that time to do what you wish, whether it be just relax, or learn something on your own. If you wanted to learn Kenjutsu, I would suggest looking for an Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate or Naruto, seeing as how they are the best kenjutsu practitioners of Konoha." Asuma added. The jonin paused to let the new information sink in.

"Enough of that, we've used enough time. We'll begin the physical training." Kakashi said as the genin jumped to their feet.

**-Elsewhere in Konoha-**

"Name?" A secretary asked.

"Naruto." A blonde teen replied.

"Well then Naruto-san, what's the reason for your visit?" The lady said.

"Well, I would like to add a name in my profile." Naruto said.

"Alright, well go ahead." The secretary prompted Naruto once again.

"Kurosaki Naruto" The blonde replied.

"Is there a possibility of a new clan?" The woman asked.

"It may be possible, but I can't say anything yet." Naruto said. "Thanks." The blonde waved goodbye and headed for the door. Moments after he walked out, an ANBU messenger appeared.

"Naruto-san, the Hokage would like to see you."

Naruto nodded as the messenger disappeared, his task finished. The blonde then sighed and with a quick shunshin, arrived in the Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama." Naruto bowed to the village leader.

"Thank you for coming. J-" The Hokage was then cut off.

"How about I explain this Minato." Jiraiya said as he hopped through the window.

"You'll have to forgive me for not noticing you, Jiraiya-sama." Naruto bowed to the toad sage.

"Easy gaki. Anyways, I requested Minato here to send you with me and infiltrate Oto, the reports state that you've already been there." Jiraiya said.

"During my time in Anbu yes I have. So you want me along for experience?" Naruto suggested as Jiraiya nodded.

"Naruto, your mission is to go with Jiraiya and find information, mostly concerning the leader and their motives. However, should you run into Tsunade your mission is to convince her to return and bring her back. Understood?" The Hokage said as Naruto turned to his leader.

"Hai Hokage-sama. When do we leave Jiraiya-sama?" Naruto asked the hermit who then replied.

"In three hours." Was all Jiraiya said as the two ninja disappeared.

**-One Hour Later, Park-**

One hour has passed since then, leaving Naruto two hours to waste. It did not take him long to prepare, but he figured that Jiraiya wanted the extra time to peep. So he was spending his time at the park with Yugao and Hayate as usual.

"Going on another mission?" Hayate asked his long time friend.

"Yep. Going with Jiraiya-sama to Oto... Still not sure why he wants me with him seeing as he is an S-Ranked nin as well." Naruto wondered as he took a bite out of his riceball.

"Well, it makes things easier to have someone good with you." Yugao chirped as she gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek.

"Suppose so..." Naruto mused to himself, and then a thought hit him and he grinned, something the two friends did not like very much.

"Neh Yugao-chan, Hayate. When's the wedding?" Naruto said rather innocently. The words took a second to register in their minds, and they immediately blushed heavily and began sputtering nonsense.

"What?" Naruto said.

"What do you mean what?!" Hayate said as the blush refused to disappear.

"You ask us when our wedding is... That's just embarrassing to think about." Yugao said as she clung onto Hayate.

"It's what I think will happen in a few years. I mean, you guys have been dating for like a year now, and you've been doing very, very well. I mean a few months in and you're already making out in some alley." Naruto said nonchalantly, causing a blush to fall upon his two friends.

"I think you've teased them enough Naruto-kun." A voice said from behind the blonde. Then the three turned and saw Itachi.

"What brings you here Itachi?" Naruto said as Hayate and Yugao sighed in relief.

"Saving them from your teasing, and checking up on my surrogate little siblings." Itachi gave a small smile. "Anyways, where are you going? You just had a month long mission last week." Itachi inquired as Naruto chuckled.

"Well, the thing is... Jiraiya-sama wants me to accompany him to Oto. Infiltration." Naruto said. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you I have a new name now. It's Kurosaki Naruto." Naruto added.

"Kurosaki? What, didn't feel like being a no named ninja?" Hayate joked as Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Oh so that's what it was about." Yugao said to herself.

"What would that be Yu-chan?" Hayate said.

"Well, a rumor spread that there might be the possibility of a new clan in Konoha." Yugao answered. This had surprised Naruto.

"H- How?! I just changed it about an hour ago?!" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Word spreads very fast in the Kunoichi population. There's even a Kunoichi Club of Konoha, I'm in it." Yugao chirped as Naruto facefaulted.

"Right... Anyways, I think I'm gonna go get some more sealing supplies." Naruto said as he walked to his favourite shinobi store.

**-Ten Points Shop-**

DING

"Oh Hello, how can I help you?" A girl with black buns in her hair said as she lowered her book, peeking towards the door.

"Oh hello Tenten. I'm just here to get some sealing supplies." Naruto said as he walked in.

"Oh hi Naruto-san! What do you need?" Tenten replied as she slid a bookmark into her book and closed it.

"Um, I suppose just some blank tags and some ink." Naruto said.

"Alright then." Tenten said as she walked to the back and returned with two boxes and set them on the table.

"That will be 1000 ryo." Tenten said as Naruto handed her the appropriate amount of money.

"Have a good day." Naruto said as he waved goodbye. Tenten on the other hand simply waved, and returned to reading her book.

**-Two Hours Later-**

"Alright then gaki, glad you decided not to leave me here. Anyways, the plan is to get in there very quick, and leave just as quickly. We can't risk anything." Jiraiya said to the blonde.

"Wait! Why did you want me to tag along? Surely the experience doesn't really matter in this case Jiraiya-sama, and we are both considered S-Ranked Nin, so I doubt you actually need my help." Naruto said as the pervert halted.

"I'll explain on the way." Jiraiya said as he jumped away. Naruto then grumbled and flashed towards Otogakure.

Seconds later, Naruto caught up to the Toad Sage.

"There's a couple things. Firstly, I heard Tsunade is at a village on the way to Oto, and I'm sure that you could convince her to return to Konoha yet again." Jiraiya said.

"If you wanted someone to convince her, you should have brought Kushina or the Namikaze twins..." Naruto drawled.

" *Sigh* To think you used to call me Ero-ji-san..." Jiraiya mumbled, but Naruto caught those words.

"That was when I was close to you and the Namikaze family. That title stays with Saru-oji." Naruto said.

"Well Tsunade was one thing. The second thing is that you know what to expect." Jiraiya continued.

"Again, you should be strong enough not to die when we're in Oto." Naruto rebuked.

" *Sigh* Damn it, why must you be so complicated..." Jiraiya mumbled as Naruto tried not to show his annoyance.

"Next. Why did you leave? Your parents weren't that bad. Not only that but you seem to hate them even." Jiraiya said as Naruto sighed.

"Tch... Hate isn't the right way to describe my feelings to Minato and Kushina. I don't know why I'm telling you this since you can just tell them about it, but I am anyways... I don't hate them, I never had, I will simply tolerate working with them as fellow Konoha shinobi. The twins however, I do forgive seeing as how they followed their parents. As for leaving, all I will say is that every child yearns for their parents' love and attention." Naruto replied.

"Last thing of our little game of 20 questions." Jiraiya said as Naruto faced him, jumping off another tree branch again.

"It's about the Toad's prophecy. I already know that you know it so don't even try to fake it." Jiraiya added as Naruto sighed.

"An opinion? Prophecies are based on how you interpret it. Children of strong parents, could mean any child with strong parents, not necessarily Natsuki and Kasumi. It also doesn't have to mean being strong ability wise, it could be strong in will." Naruto answered as both nin jumped off a tree branch.

"You know that wasn't what I was referring to but you have good points. What do you think of the "ancient power" supposedly from before the Rikudo Sennin existed?" Jiraiya inquired the blonde.

"Ancient power? Now that's incredibly vague. You don't happen to have anything else about it do you?" Naruto asked the sage as he nodded.

"Yeah, a recent prophecy was speaking of a guardian using that ancient power rising again." Jiraiya said as his gaze never left Naruto.

"A guardian you say? I can't really say anything as things are, you don't know what this ancient power is so you can't really say anything about the guardian. It could mean anything, a giant dragon, or some other godlike being." Naruto answered. The blonde mentally sighed in relief, he did not want to answer questions about the ancient power, seeing as how it's almost guaranteed to be referring to him.

"Anyways, which town is Tsunade in?" Naruto said.

"Tsukuba, it's just north-east-north. W-" Jiraiya was cut off as Naruto grabbed him and the two vanished, leaving nothing behind.

**-Tsukuba-**

At the gates of the town of Tsukuba, two shinobi appeared in a flash. Naruto then dropped the Toad Sage who immediately emptied his stomach at a patch of grass.

"Ugh... Gaki, what the hell did you do." Jiraiya said as he wiped the vomit from his lip.

"We're here." Naruto said. Jiraiya then stood up and saw the town, and sure enough they were there.

"Well gaki, let's go find a casino or something." Jiraiya said. Naruto could only sigh as he gave up on telling the sage to stop calling him a brat.

Surely enough, they had found a few casinos, but started with the biggest one.

Inside, the place seemed quite nice. It was very well furbished, and very busy. The two ninja decided to mingle and try to look for their target. So, Jiraiya tried to ask beautiful women while Naruto played at a poker table. Funnily enough, Tsunade was just across from the blonde teen, playing at the same table. Oddly enough, Tsunade appeared in her twenties, with long blonde hair and a very large bust, comparable to Mei's in Naruto's mind. Also, there was a brunette in her twenties as well holding a pig.

_"Probably Tsunade's apprentice..."_ Was Naruto's conclusion as he was beginning to consider roasting the pig, his stomach agreeing with his mind. Naruto then proceeded to play poker.

**-Few Minutes Later-**

"Alright, show hands." The dealer said after a few minutes into the game.

"Three of a kind." A random man said.

"Two pairs..." Another man grumbled.

"Full house." Tsunade declared.

"Three of a kind." The dealer said. Then Naruto gave a hearty chuckle.

"Royal Flush!" Naruto declared. Everyone at the table gasped in shock. They looked at his cards. It was a royal flush. They did a double-take, and it was still a royal flush.

"Damn kid! Now that's lucky!" The dealer said as Naruto reaped his winnings.

"Thanks, I'm done for now." Naruto replied as he casually made his way to Tsunade, Jiraiya beside the Kurosaki.

"My my Tsu-chan, even in old age you've grown beautiful." Jiraiya said with a slightly perverted smile as his eyes slowly trailed to her chest.

"Save it Jiraiya. Why are you here?" Tsunade said with some hostility.

"Well, we're here to bring you back to Konoha. We probably need you for the International Chunin Exams. Chances are Orochimaru and Iwa will attack for revenge." Jiraiya said.

"We? Who's the blonde gaki? Last blonde you taught was Minato, what happened to him?" Tsunade questioned as Naruto then walked up to the brown haired lady.

"Kurosaki Naruto, a pleasure to meet you." Naruto said politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto-san. I'm Shizune." The now known Shizune replied with a smile.

"Neh Shizune-san, is Tsunade and Jiraiya always like this? Tsunade's incredibly hostile and Jiraiya's a complete pervert." Naruto said with a sweatdrop growing. Shizune paused to think and nodded, a sweatdrop also slowly forming on her.

"OW! What was that for?!" A scream was heard from Jiraiya as Tsunade seemingly punched him into nothingness.

"Um... Tsunade-san? I hope you didn't kill him cuz I need him for this mission..." Naruto said rather sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Who the hell are you gaki?" Tsunade demanded the blonde who backed away, slightly nervous of the woman.

"Easy there baa-san..." Naruto said as a tick mark quickly appeared on Tsunade. "I'm Kurosaki Naruto, and supposedly both yours and his godson."

"Huh?! Jiraiya, what the hell?! You didn't tell me that bastard Minato cheated on Kushina!"

"I was getting to that but then you punched me out the roof!" Jiraiya shouted as he landed in front of the group. The Toad Sage rubbed his bruise and continued speaking.

"He was Minato's kid-" This earned him a heated glare from Naruto, but Jiraiya did not notice, or pretended not to notice. "Then he exiled himself from the Uzumaki-Namikaze Clan."

"Wait... I remember Kushina sending me a letter about the girls Natsuki and Kasumi, but almost never talked about this gaki. What rank is he, chunin?" Tsunade said rather incredulously.

"For the record, I'm Jonin and a former ANBU Captain thank you very much, and this gaki can probably win against you." Naruto declared with hands crossed.

"Seriously? He's got to be like 15. Fine, let's make a little bet." Tsunade said as Shizune gasped.

"Tsunade-sama! You don't need anymore debts than you already have!" The apprentice seemingly scolded the master.

"Well? What's the bet?" Naruto said, leaning in to hear the details.

"Simple, we'll fight. If I win, you guys won't bug me again, and blondie over here has to gimme everything he earned here. He's practically swept the table he played at for that one game." Tsunade explained.

"And if I win?" Naruto asked, curious to a challenge.

"I'll go back to Konoha on one condition, and," Tsunade then held out a necklace with a single green crystal attached to it. "Hashirama-sama's necklace."

Immediately Shizune gasped in horror. "Tsunade-sama! Why are you betting that of all things! You say that it's cursed yourself!" Shizune protested, in the short time she's talked to Naruto, she liked him. He was a good person in her mind and she would hope that he wouldn't die because of that necklace.

"Alr-" Naruto began but was cut off as the four heard an explosion come from the distance.

"We'll do it after we investigate this, but you may or may not have a reunion if I'm right." Naruto said as they disappeared towards the explosion and smoke. Just as they left, a giant plume of smoke revealed a very large snake.

**-Explosion Site-**

"Gaki, why do you want to fight? You seem excited." Tsunade questioned the blonde.

"The bet, or fight as a shinobi?" Naruto asked in return. Tsunade then said a quick "Both", slightly surprising Naruto.

"The bet, I haven't fought anyone considered an S-Ranked ninja, so it's a bit of an opportunity." Naruto said and then paused. "As a shinobi... I fight so others won't have to. I fight to protect everyone I hold dear to me. I am a guardian of sorts. That is why I fight!" Naruto declared with pride. Then something about those words hit Tsunade.

_"He doesn't want to become Hokage like Dan and Nawaki... But his intentions are the same... They all want to protect something."_ Tsunade was lost in thought as the group arrived at the site, avoiding a very large snake.

"Kukuku... Well Tsunade, you didn't mention anything about guests..." A creepy voice said. The group then looked on above the giant purple snake and saw one Snake Sannin, Orochimaru.

"What do you want Orochimaru?" Tsunade shouted to the pale man. Kabuto then walked from behind and stood near the Snake Sannin.

"Hahaha... Your answer of course. Allow me to refresh your memory. Last week, Orochimaru-sama approached you with an offer. To heal his subordinate's lungs in exchange for him reviving your lover and brother." Kabuto explained as a grin formed on Orochimaru's face as he let out a maniacal cackle.

"Tsunade! You didn't mention any of this before why?!" Both Jiraiya and Naruto inquired the woman.

"You didn't need to know. Jiraiya is an idiot and so are you gaki."

"Orochimaru! When you say revive, don't you mean bring from the grave as mindless puppets with Edo Tensei?!" Naruto demanded the snake. Tsunade's, Shizune's and Jiraiya's eyes widened as they heard this revelation.

"Oh my! And how do you know about that 'little' trick?" Orochimaru asked as the snake he stood on lowered him to the ground, disappearing afterwards.

"Your research from about three years ago. That base was completely destroyed." Naruto shouted back.

"Orochimaru you sick bastard! Raising slaves from the dead! Can't you just let the dead rest?!" Jiraiya shouted as Tsunade was still in shock.

"No matter what... I couldn't have done anything?" Tsunade questioned herself and her abilities as a medic nin as tears welled in her eyes.

"I take it your answer is no, _Tsunade_?"

Tsunade snapped out of her depressing thoughts and heard the question. Defiantly she shouted back. "Hell no! Even if I said yes, it wouldn't have been the same! Dan and Nawaki wouldn't want that!" Tsunade shouted. "After this day, the title of Sannin shall no longer be!"

"Kukuku, very well then. Kabuto, please take care of dear Shizune, and feel free to use _him_." Orochimaru said. Kabuto nodded and slowly walked over to the group. The group tensed as the snake sage cut his thumb and began some hand-seals. Instantly recognizing those for the summoning technique, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and to everyone's surprise Naruto, repeated and performed their own sets of hand-seals.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**"

The four ninja slammed their hands on the ground, creating a massive amount of smoke. The smoke eventually died down revealing four colossal creatures. Under Orochimaru was a giant purple snake with black stripes and four horn like protrusions. Under Tsunade was a blue and white slug. Jiraiya stood upon a giant orange toad with a blue vest and a rather large blade. Naruto on the other hand was crouched on top of something shocking everyone to the core, summons included. He was on a massive phoenix with wings of fire.

**"What have you sssummoned me for this time?****" **The snake under Orochimaru questioned.

"Forgive me Manda, but I have called you for battle against them." Orochimaru pointed towards the group in front of him. Manda's gaze turned in that direction and could not hide his surprise as he saw the phoenix.

**"OROCHIMARU! You've ssummoned me to do battle with a Phoenix?! I expect 1000 ssacrificesss for thisss!"** Manda replied as he flicked his tongue.

"Of course, you will have your sacrifices afterwards." Orochimaru replied.

**-With Naruto's Group-**

**"FOR KAMI'S SAKE! WHAT'S WITH YOU GUYS AND CALLING ME FOR CRAZY THINGS?!"** Gamabunta shouted at his summoner. **"I thought that fighting the Kyuubi was more than enough with Minato but noooo, you just had to summon me when there's a phoenix here..."**

"Well hey?! I didn't know that gaki could summon Phoenixes of all things?!" Jiraiya shouted back.

**"Which gaki is this?"** The toad asked as he took a puff of his pipe.

"The gaki is Naruto 'Bunta, Naruto. Minato's former kid."

**"Ah Naruto, I really liked him. I'll ask about the former part later... But you owe me lots of sake for this!"** Bunta shouted to his summoner once again.

**-With Tsunade-**

**"Hello again Tsunade-sama. How may I help you this time?"** The slug asked.

"Hello again Katsuyu. I summoned you to fight Orochimaru this time." Tsunade replied. Katsuyu then looked around the area seeing Jiraiya, Gamabunta, Orochimaru, Manda, Kabuto and Shizune who were on the ground and turned again, surprised at the sight.

**"Tsunade-sama? Is that a phoenix beside us?"**

"It seems it is. The summoner is a kid named Kurosaki Naruto." Tsunade added.

_**"Kurosaki? That may be one of the names in the ancient records."**_ Katsuyu thought to herself, but decided not to say anything due to summon laws and her own suspicions.

**-With Naruto-**

"Hello again Kikoo-sama." Naruto greeted the phoenix.

**"Hello again Naruto. What is the reason for you summoning me here today?"** The phoenix asked the blonde shinigami.

"I need you to help the toad and the slug along with their summoners in their fight against that snake and the pale man on top of it." Naruto answered.

**"And what will you be doing during this?"** Kikoo questioned.

"I'll be helping Shizune fight Kabuto and that other guy on the ground. She doesn't seem to be fairing very well." Naruto said

**"Very well then, I bid you luck in your battle."**

"And you as well Kikoo-sama." Naruto said as he jumped off the phoenix and landed on the ground in front of the summon.

**-Shizune's Battle-**

Shizune jumped out of the way of another chakra scalpel and rolled as a deformed arm of sorts smashed at her last position. Quickly getting up, she redid the Chakra Scalpel technique and held her arms out in a defensive position, panting as she did it.

"It appears that you're having some fun with him. He is Subject X015, or Horan." Kabuto said from behind the test subject. He appeared to be a very tall, dark skinned man clad in a black cloak and had orange hair with green streaks here and there. The odd thing was that half his face was covered in a black pattern of sorts, and he can create or shift his body parts, and as of now his hand was in the form of a hammer of sorts.

_"This is really bad. I didn't think Kabuto would have something like that up his sleeve."_ Shizune thought to herself as she dodged another slash from Kabuto. Jumping away to gather her breath, she didn't notice that her other opponent circled around her. It then tried to smash Shizune to the ground but was stopped as Naruto appeared and blocked the strike.

"Sorry Shizune, looks like you can use a bit of help right now." Naruto said as Amaterasu appeared in his right hand. Naruto then did a side kick at the tall experiment, sending him away.

"Thank you, Naruto-san." Shizune said as she tried to regain her breath again. "Horan is defending Kabuto. So we have to defeat Horan first."

"On it Shizune." Naruto said as he brought Amaterasu close to his body, gripping the blade with two hands and took an offensive stance. He then charged his zanpakuto with fire element reiryoku, causing the blade to erupt in white fire with hints of blue.

"Oh come on Naruto-kun, you can't possibly hit anything from that distance." Kabuto mocked the blonde as the blonde only smirked.

"Is that so?" Naruto drew back the zanpakuto as the flames took a sketchy form of a halberd. "**Blaze Spear Devastation!**" Naruto then thrust the zanpakuto, releasing all of the stored energy at the end. The technique had an immediate effect and the rough halberd shot at Horan and speared the test subject, and burnt him to ashes in a matter of moments.**  
**

"Well then Kabuto, shall we?" Naruto said with a smirk as he hoisted Amaterasu onto his shoulder.

**-Summon's Battle-**

**"Damn you Orochimaru... I should kill you after thissss..." **Manda hissed at the pale snake summoner as the snake barely dodged an overwhelming amount of fire, fueled by oil. Katsuyu then shot several globs of acid at the snake, causing Manda to hiss in pain. From the sky another stream of fire came upon Manda, then the phoenix darted at the snake. Once again Manda shouted in pain and burrowed underground.

**"Where is that snake? I need a new snake skin wallet..." **Gamabunta grumbled as he waited on his guard for the snake to pop up.

**"We can't do much but wait..."** Katsuyu added as Kikoo nodded, still high in there air. The ground rumbled and shook as Manda shot upwards towards the phoenix. Manda tried to bite the bird but missed horribly and fell back to the ground where Jiraiya, Tsunade, Gamabunta and Katsuyu were all waiting for him.

The Toad chief made a wide swing at the snake, allowing Manda to whip Gamabunta's hand, forcing the toad to let go of the massive blade. While Jiraiya and Bunta were distracting the snake, Tsunade bolted towards the sword and picked it up with her inhumane strength. Of course she began attacking Manda with it, and luckily the Toad boss was already sitting on the purple reptile, effectively pinning him to the ground. Tsunade smirked and jumped high in the air and brought down the blade on Manda's mouth, stabbing the sword deep into the ground.

**"Grrr... Damn you Orochimaru... I won't be able to eat properly for monthsss..."** Manda said as he was forced to return to the summons realm and recover.

"Give up Orochimaru! It's over!" Jiraiya shouted. The summons then surrounded the lone snake sage. Then they heard a shout and turned their heads to where Shizune, Naruto and Kabuto where.

"**Hado #73: Soren Sokatsui!**"

A burst of blue energy shot at Kabuto, and exploded at impact. Everyone was surprised at the damage while Orochimaru grinned at the thought of learning that technique. Once the dust settled, it revealed a heavily injured Kabuto with cuts and bruises everywhere.

"Kabuto, we're leaving!" The snake summoner shouted. Kabuto turned to his master's direction and smirked. In moments, majority of the injuries disappeared, as if they were never there. Then Kabuto jumped by his master's side. Shortly after, Naruto appeared in front of the pale ninja with Shizune on his back.

"What? Running away so soon?" Naruto called out.

"Kukuku, what an interesting person you are Naruto-kun." Orochimaru said as he and Kabuto began to sink into the ground. "I would love to have that technique of yours, and don't worry. You'll see me very soon at the big event. Kukuku!" Orochimaru cackled as he and Kabuto disappeared, leaving no trace of them ever being there, save for the destruction.

"Damn it!" Tsunade cursed.

"Well... you guys alright?" Naruto asked. Everyone nodded in return.

**"Well if that is all I shall be leaving."** The phoenix said as Naruto nodded. Kikoo then disappeared, leaving behind some flames.

**"That was fun, too bad I didn't get any snake skin later. Remember Jiraiya, you owe me some sake and an explanation!"** Gamabunta shouted at the pervert who chuckled. The toad promptly left in a plume of smoke.

**"I should be going as well.****"** Katsuyu said as she disappeared in smoke as well.

"Hmm... how 'bout we find a hotel or something?" Naruto suggested out of the blue, but then Tsunade walked over to him.

"Naruto, I believe you've earned this." Tsunade said as she handed him Hashirama's necklace.

"But how? We still didn't have that fight." Naruto questioned.

"Doesn't matter. You proved yourself to me. So I might as well cut my losses and go to Konoha. Besides, I haven't seen Sarutobi-sensei in a while and I want to make that medical ninja program I wanted to before." Tsunade said. Naruto then nodded and wore the necklace around his neck. Naruto then walked over to Shizune and picked up the brunette bridal style, said brunette blushing slightly.

"Well then, let's go!" Naruto said. "Tonton! We're leaving!" With an oink the pig came from behind a large boulder and jumped onto Shizune.

**-That Night at the Inn, Naruto's Mindscape-**

**"Hello Naruto-kun, what is the reason this time?"** The Shinigami spoke in a kind voice, settling down on a chair in her human form.

"Well Shinigami-sama..."

**"Enough with the formalities, they make me sick..."** The goddess cut Naruto off again.

"Alright then, Shini-chan... There's something I wanted to know. What would happen if I had kids, like would they get a zanpakuto as well?" Naruto inquired the goddess as Yami gave a quiet giggle across the room, trying not to lose focus on his domino structure.

**"So your wondering if the ability to manifest a zanpakuto would be a bloodline as you call it?"** The Shinigami said as Naruto nodded.

**"Well, your the first person in this situation, so there's no guarantee that it would be passed down to children. However, the ability to use reiryoku along chakra will most likely be passed down to your children should you have any."**

"Aww, thanks Shini-chan!" Naruto said with a grin causing the goddess to blush, thought it was barely visible.

**"Your welcome Naruto-kun. Before I leave, two things. Just to remind you, ever since you've been chosen to use reiryoku, you've been my avatar. Secondly, there's something coming up in the future, I can't tell you much since it's out of my jurisdiction for now, but it's something about the biju. Just a warning. Until next time Naruto-kun."** The Shinigami waved goodbye to Naruto and left as if she was never there.

**-Next Morning-**

_"Ugh, Holy hell... First I'm a guardian, now I gotta look out for the biju, what's next."_ Naruto silently cursed as he woke up, the sun glaring in his eyes.

_"I don't care if paperwork is a pain, but someone needs to find a way to beat sunlight in the morning..." _Naruto said to himself as he then did his morning routine.

Looking through his scrolls for clothing, Naruto found some interesting things. He found a black marker, paint, and oddly enough, balloons. So of course Jiraiya is going to get pranked. Naruto silently filled the ballons with freezing cold water and hung them above the sleeping drunk with ninja wire. Then he started doodling on his face with marker, drawing mustaches and wrinkles, both looking very real. Afterwards he moved the mirror to just in front of Jiraiya. Just as he was going to use paint, Naruto thought he would be nice and not paint the sage. So he used an illusion on a random wooden cube he found to make it appear as Orochimaru in bed with him.

Then the prank ensued, Naruto took the ninja wire to the door, cutting the wire and leaving the room. The wire snapped, dropping the water balloons on the man, causing him to wake up freezing cold with a massive headache, shouting very loudly. This woke up Tsunade, Shizune and Tonton who were across the hall. After calming down somewhat, he looked in the mirror and saw his face, and cried for mercy as he no longer looked good. Seeing something peculiar in the mirror, he looked around his bed and found Orochimaru snuggling in his arm. Of course he screamed like a little girl and fainted.

Naruto had dragged Tsunade and Shizune to watch Jiraiya's reactions, and all three of them had a field day. Naruto then took some pictures as evidence and hid it in his scrolls.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! AND THIS!" Jiraiya screamed as he tried to get an explanation as how he was freezing cold, looked ten years older, and was sleeping with Orochimaru.

"Oh how Icha Icha is screwed." Naruto whistled innocently. Tsunade and Shizune then exploded into fights of laughter, silently putting him in a very good position in their books.

**-Hours Later, Hokage's Office-**

"Hokage-sama, here's the report." Naruto handed the Hokage a scroll, one containing the report of the mission, and some pictures of the prank. He tried his best to hide a smirk as he handed the scroll.

"I'll be sure to read it, as I would like to know why Jiraiya-sensei looks much older and much paler than he was a few days ago." Minato said calmly. Then he turned to Tsunade and Shizune. "So, Tsunade-sama, you said that you wanted to create a medical ninja program? Then you may do so and have full authority over it." Minato said as he took a piece of paper and wrote a note. "Give this to the head doctor there. He'll understand." Tsunade grabbed the note and thanked the blonde.

"Minato, you don't mind if I see Kushina right? The seal should still recognize me and there's something I want to ask her." Tsunade said.

"Of course I don't, go ahead. Anyways, you are dismissed." Minato dismissed the group who promptly left, leaving behind the Toad sage and his student.

"Minato... I found out who the phoenix summoner is." Jiraiya said seriously.

"Well, who is it?" Minato said, slightly irritated as his sensei wouldn't just tell him and the amount of paperwork that he just received from his secretary.

"It's been Naruto this whole time!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"NANI?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

The cries of the blonde kage rang out in the entire village.

"Yes Minato, I'm serious. I can have 'Bunta, Katsuyu and even Manda testify to it." Jiraiya added. The Kage sighed as he held his head in the palms of his hands.

"Dear Kami, what have I done to deserve this crap?" Minato mumbled to himself as he saw his secretary walk in with more paperwork.

"Well, enjoy the papers! I need to excuse myself to continue recording my observations for my next fictional discovery!" Jiraiya let out a perverted giggle as he jumped out the window, leaving a cursing kage.

**-Time Skip, A Week Before the Chunin Exams, Hokage's Office-**

The office was quite packed. Standing behind The Yondaime Hokage was Jiraiya the Toad Sage, and Kurosaki Naruto, the Living Shinigami. In front of the Namikaze were the for other Kages and their body guards. (**A/N**: Canon characters look the same as they do in the manga. Unnamed ones get names, as bad as my naming skills are.)

At the left of the room was the Godaime Mizukage, Terumi Mei. Behind her was Tetsu and Ao. Mei gave a wink to Naruto, who smiled in return.

Next to the Mizukage was the Yondaime Raikage, A. Behind him were two males. One had dark skin with sunglasses, and seven swords, while the other had dark skin and white hair, with only a cleaver sword on his back. They were Killer Bee, and Darui.

Beside the Raikage was the Yondaime Kazekage Sabaku no Kizu, garbed in the Kage robes. Standing behind him were two males with standard Suna equipment, one with a turban covering the left side of his face. They were Baki and Isago.

Finally there was the Sandaime Tsuchikage, an old man by the name of Onoki. Behind him was his granddaughter Kurotsuchi, and a male Iwa jonin Akatsuchi.

"I do not think we need so many people in the room for this. Would the guards be so kind to wait outside?" Minato said. Everyone nodded as they let the guards exit the room.

"Perhaps an introduction is an order. As you may know, I am Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage of Konoha."

Then Mei spoke. "Godaime Mizukage, Terumi Mei. A pleasure to make your acquaintance Hokage-dono."

Next, the Kazekage spoke. "Sabaku no Kizu, Yondaime Kazekage." The Kazekage spoke stoically.

"Yondaime Raikage, A." The Raikage spoke in a gruff voice.

"You should know me already but Sandaime Tsuchikage, Onoki..." The old fence-sitter grumbled. Clearly he was not over the losses against the Yellow Flash.

**-Outside the Office-**

"It's been a while Tetsu, Ao. Since we're here, I suppose we should at least know each other's names. I'm Kurosaki Naruto, the pervert is Jiraiya." Naruto said. Then the Kazekage's guards spoke.

"I'm Baki, and this is Isago." The Suna nin with his face covered spoke as he pointed to his partner.

"As he said before, Tetsu and Ao." Tetsu said as he stood by his partner.

"Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi." The female Iwa nin said.

"Imma Killer Bee! This is a'Darui. WHEE!" The eccentric Kumo nin rapped as he grabbed his partner in a headlock.

"Well then, mind tellin us how you got your name bumblebee?" Naruto asked. _"Dear Kami he's like the Gai of Kumo..."_ Naruto was sweatdropping inwardly, as were his other spirits.

"I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, cuz I'mma Killer Bee!" Bee said as he raised his hand in the air. Everyone could only sweatdrop at his horrible raps.

"Neh, Darui-san, does he get any better?" Tetsu whispered to the white haired ninja.

"Nope, you get used to it though..." Darui replied.

"I wonder if we can have a spar some time, Kirabi." Naruto said as the unknown jinchuuriki smirked and extended a fist. Somehow knowing what he wanted, Naruto shrugged and gave the taller man a fist bump.

**-Elsewhere-**

"Well then, there's something we would like to say to all of you." Kakashi said as he and his fellow jonin instructors plus Itachi, stood before the genin.

"All of you have improved tremendously, not just as a shinobi, but as a person." Kakashi added.

"And your improvements have made us very proud of you, all of you." Kurenai continued.

"So, just make sure you remember what you learned for the Chunin Exams tomorrow, and be careful. Genin from Iwa, Kiri, Kumo, and Suna are going to be there as well. Many of them will be older than you and may be stronger than you. But remember this, you aren't alone, you have your team to depend on." Asume said.

"But remember this, you are never truly alone, you have your teammates you can count on when in a pinch. Now enjoy the rest of the week to relax and collect your thoughts, or do whatever you want, you've earned it." Tenzo finished.

"YAHOO!" Kiba hollered.

"Yatta! Finally!" Ino said as she plopped down on the ground.

"That was really tough. Can't believe we made through it." Choji added.

"Neh Kakashi-sensei, you think that all of us can go to the BBQ restaurant to celebrate?" Sakura said curiously.

"Hmm... I'm assuming that all of you agree on this?" Kakashi said as he looked towards the group of genin who were nodding enthusiastically.

"Well then, how 'bout it, Itachi, Kurenai, Asuma, Tenzo?" Kakashi asked lazily.

"I suppose I could come." Itachi said monotone as usual.

"Why not? I was thinkin of taking my team out anyways." Asuma said as he took a puff of his cigar.

"I agree." Kurenai said, Tenzo only nodded.

"Does that answer your question Sakura-chan?" Kakashi said as his student beamed.

**-Yakiniku Q-**

The group had to order a couple of booths to accommodate the number of people. So they took two large booths that were just across from each other. The genin sat at one booth while the jonin sat in the other. The genin were talking amongst themselves as they ate. Sasuke and Sayuri were talking about their improvements with the Sharingan, both now have two tomoe in each eye. Sakura, Ino, and surprisingly Hinata were talking about their progress with medical jutsu. Team 9 was simply talking about their improvements through the training, and everyone else was just talking about their days during the training.

The jonin were simply discussing their thoughts on the genin, with Kakashi reading Icha Icha and Kurenai resisting the urge to throw him in a genjutsu.

"So, how do you guys think they'll fair in the chunin exam?" Itachi asked.

"YOSH! My youthful genin have improved greatly under our tutelage! Neji-kun can defend himself from ninjutsu better, and his speed has improved, unfortunately he's still cold to everyone. Lee-kun has improved greatly! As for Tenten-chan, her form in taijutsu has improved so she can hold her own against most genin! Her kenjutsu skills are much more refined from what Naruto-san has told me!" Gai declared as the youthfulness overwhelmed the booth.

"Well, I say they have a good chance. Shikamaru can actually do something troublesome every now and then, and his taijutsu is much better. Choji is much better overall, and the same goes for Ino, especially since she isn't a big fangirl anymore. Ninjutsu wise I can't say since they've been learning with their dads. In genjutsu, they can dispell and cast minor ones easily." Asuma said.

"Well, I feel quite happy with my team. Hinata's finally gotten some confidence to back up her attacks. She didn't do very well with ninjutsu, as the Hyuuga specialize in taijutsu, but overall she's pretty solid. Shino's taijutsu has also improved, mainly in speed. Kiba won't always rush in head first now, so I think I've covered their weaknesses for now." Kurenai added.

"Well, Sasuke and Sayuri now have the second stage of the Sharingan, so I think that they'll be fine for genjutsu and taijutsu. Ninjutsu wise, the twins are doing pretty good, Sasuke's lightning and Sayuri's fire. As for Sakura, I think she's doing pretty good with everything now. Her taijutsu's on par with Sasuke without his Sharingan, and she's a bit faster than him. Her genjutsu is going amazing due to her chakra control, and I think she can heal minor injuries with medical jutsu." Kakashi spoke.

"I'm happy with my team as it is. They're abilities weren't the main issue, but their teamwork. They can actually work together now, something I'm happy about. Sai's taijutsu is better, but he's still much better suited for long-ranged attacks. The Namikaze twins aren't as arrogant as they were before, especially Kasumi. They can control two tails of the Kyuubi's chakra as a back up, but their abilities are solid." Tenzo said.

"By the way, what do you feel about Iwa being here? Personally I don't like it, they give me a bad feeling about the exams." Itachi asked the jonin.

**-With the Genin-**

"Man, I say we're gonna do great on this! I'm sure most of us will become chunin!" Kiba said excitedly. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Mhmm.. personally I say that the whole deal with this being international is too troublesome though." Shikamaru sighed, as did the rest of the genin. You can never get him to change...

"Indeed. Why the change? I do not know, but I believe that there are two main reasons. One, it is to receive publicity and send a message that Konoha is still strong after the Third Shinobi war and the Kyuubi's Attack. Two, it is to extend a peace offering to the other nations." Shino replied as monotone as Itachi is.

"I have to agree with you Shino. Having all four other villages allowed to enter is just asking for someone to attack." Sasuke said.

"Regardless, I still think that we'll do fine in the exams. We learned so much from the senseis." Sayuri added.

"Yes, I still have to thank Tsunade-sama for teaching us." Hinata said with a smile.

"Oh yeah, I still gotta thank Naruto-san and his two other friends for helping me with kenjutsu." Tenten added.

"I must thank Naruto-san as well! His youthfulness has helped me as well!" Lee declared with a fire in his eyes.

"I still can't shake off the feeling that something bad is going to happen during the exams." Natsuki said as she sighed. All of the genin nodded in agreement.

"By the way, has anyone wondered what Kakashi-sensei looks like behind his mask?" Sayuri asked, changing the topic.

"Oh yeah, he's always wearing that mask!" Sakura added.

And so the groups continued their discussions for the day and headed home to begin preparing for the exams, however, they weren't the only ones making preparations.

**-Elsewhere in the World-**

In front of a certain pale man were several research papers about a now complete Curse Seal of Heaven.

"Kukuku... soon, your eyes shall be mine, Uchiha-kun. Kukuku!" A creepy chuckle was heard through the underground passages of Oto. Need I say who it was?

* * *

END CHAPTER!

I suppose I'll end things off there. Yeah Tsunade returns before the exams, mainly as part of the medical corps. I also couldn't resist having a prank in there for this chapter. As for Kakashi's mask, has anyone ever seen his entire face without it in the manga/anime?

Remember, Review if you have questions, show your support!


	13. Ch 13 Chunin Exams Start!

A/N: I'm so sorry I wasn't able to get this out earlier! School and everything... Anyways, I apologize if this isn't as good as other chapters, since I was trying to get this out fast. Again, random disappearing text edits and line breaks are disappearing again...

**DuelWarrior:** Yeah, Zangetsu won't appear in this story, he'll be noted and referred to, but he won't have a defining role. Also note that in one of the earlier chapters (Think it was last chapter), it was noted that the ability to have a zanpakuto isn't a bloodline, the ability to use reiryoku is though.

**Dregus:** Oh it will most definitely be ugly :D

**Junky****: **Indeed, not only would it invalidate the whole concept of Zanpakuto, it would be a pain to think of new ones for people.

**serialkeller: **Yeah, after reading my own story, I still have issues thinking that Minato and Kushina forgetting Naruto would actually happen. Anyways, I realized that Naruto really shouldn't have been S-Rank until he defeated Yagura, so I went back and changed it up so that his growth isn't too rapid, but it also fits the story smoothly. About the part where he's caught off guard against Raiga. I wanted it so Naruto was surprised that Raiga was able to block it since he wasn't able to keep up with Naruto before, but since I failed that I went back and changed that as well. For the sudden genius/moron changes, I'm not that great at writing it... So my apologies...

**Someguyfromthe1600s:** Thank you for pointing out those things. I'll try to make the time skips flow better, and I'll see what I can do about the explanation.

**StrifeCloudxxxFF7:** Um... Did I actually add a One Piece character? But what I remember putting in from One Piece were more minor additions. I purposely missed a line for Loveless since Naruto was just saying things from the top of his head. Also, if you can PM me about the Genesis thing that would be great since I don't have a clue about Genesis (Unless your talking about Genesis from the Bible or some religion...) And thanks for bringing it up about Naruto being too well rounded. I might be able to have his skills degrade over time somehow should the plot take it in that direction.

**Benevolent Darkness:** Yep, I remember like Episode 103 or something of the Naruto anime was solely devoted to unmasking Kakashi, which revealed him having a mask under his mask.

**Impster:** I was already thinking of having Shinigami visit Naruto to talk about his limits. Even though he only has one Bankai so far, he would be incredibly overpowered with three of them at once, not to mention the strain would be insane. But do expect a fight pushing Naruto to his limits quite soon, I'm not saying it'll be good but it's coming anyways.

**ultima-owner:** Subject X015 was basically using an altered version of Jugo's cursed seal, just not as powerful.

**sasuke2012:** Um... Sorry but I do not speak polish, but with the powers of Google translate (DUN DUN DUN!), The chunin exams will be next. Language barriers suck...

**rivereagles999:** Killer B is just awesome like that, and will Naruto be getting the curse seal? No, just no...

**dbzsotrum9: **Thanks for the compliment. Note that this would be the First International Chunin Exams, so Kabuto would've been able to take the exams 7 times beforehand. I will do my best to keep the genin's overall power balanced, though I most definitely agree with your other points. And thanks for that little fun fact!

**SinofDisaster:** Um.. I may consider having Naruto use Tsukiyomi on Orochimaru... (insert screams of pain/horror here)

**bankai777:** Council meetings and whatnot will be kept for the next chapter.

Anyways... I own nothing but OCs... That means no Naruto anime/manga, no Bleach anime/manga, no One Piece anime/manga.

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**Ch 13. Chunin Exams, Start!  
**

* * *

**-Day of the Chunin Exams-**

Currently, Team 7 was walking towards the Academy, where the first stage of the Chunin Exams are supposed to be held at. Sasuke was thinking about an odd person they ran into yesterday. He had red hair, the kanji for "Love" on his forehead and had a gourd of sand on his back. The Uchiha was beginning to get frustrated, as he didn't know what felt wrong about that sand nin.

_"Damn, what was wrong with him? Grrr... I can't figure it out!"_ Sasuke berated himself for not being able to detect the wrong in the picture.

"Neh Sasuke-nii, don't be so worried. The first stage is supposedly easy from what some of the other chunins said." Sayuri said to her brother.

"It's not the exams, it's that red head guy from yesterday. Somethings definitely wrong about him, but I don't know what." Sasuke grumbled.

"Hey guys, just to let you know, we're at the academy. We're going to room 301, third floor." Sakura snapped the two out of their conversation.

"So just up some stairs huh?" Sayuri said to herself.

After walking up a flight of stairs, they saw their target. There was a door being guarded by two kids around their age, and said door had a plate above it with number "301" on said plate.

"Hey! Let us through!" A loud genin shouted. He seemed to have dark hair and the Iwa head band on it.

"It's a genjutsu idiot." Sakura mumbled to herself.

"Let's just leave these idiots here and go to the real room." Sasuke whispered to his teammates. Sayuri and Sakura nodded and then left the Iwa team on the wrong floor.

"Hey there! Glad you all decided to come!" A voice said. The genin of Team 7 saw their sensei waiting by the correct door

"Sensei? Why are you here?" Sayuri asked the scarecrow.

"Just to tell you something. All of you came here, and I'm glad you decided to step up to the plate." Kakashi said with an eye-smile. "You didn't necessarily have to take the exams, but you needed a full team for them. Even if you didn't want to take the exams, you were getting that training. So why don't you three go in there and make us proud! And do be careful out there." Kakashi warned his pupils and then disappeared in a plume of smoke.

**-Inside Room 301-**

The room itself was very big, but also crowded. Most people were off on there own with other genin from their own village. Konoha genin were in the right side of the room, Kumo teams were in a corner on the same side, Kiri ninja were also near the right side, while Suna and Iwa nin were on the left side. Of course there were some unknowns in this, such as a team with musical notes on their head bands, and a Konoha genin no one recognized.

"Hey! Looks like everyone did show up!" Kiba hollered as he saw Team 7 walk in.

"Urusai Kiba, your far too noisy for this time of the day." The male Uchiha replied to the Inuzaka.

"It's far too troublesome to be here, and you just have to be loud too?" Shikamaru said with a yawn.

"Shut up Shika. Everything's troublesome for you." Ino scolded the Nara heir.

"Well I'm glad that everyone's here." Natsuki greeted the team.

"Indeed I am too, but your incredibly loud. You'll draw some unwanted attention." Another voice cut in to their conversation.

"Who the hell are you glasses?" Kasumi said angrily.

"Me? Oh I am but another Konoha ninja, just like you. My name's Yakushi Kabuto, a pleasure to meet you." The genin mock-bowed to the genin.

"Neh Kabuto-san, is this your first time at the exams? You look a lot older than most people." Sai asked.

"Oh no, not by a long shot. This is actually my seventh time doing it, they're that hard." Kabuto said as everyone collectively gasped. Then he continued. "Over the times I've been here, I've collected some useful information about some of the competitors." Kabuto then pulled out... a deck of cards. "These are my Ninja-Info Cards. Anything or anyone you'd like to know about?" Kabuto asked the Konoha genin.

"Well yeah sure, how many teams are here, and from what villages?" Natsuki said as she looked at the cards.

"Hmm... Alright then. Just give me a moment." Kabuto said as he channeled a bit of chakra into the card. "My that's interesting. There are nine teams from Konoha, seven from Suna, five from Kumo, six from Kiri, four from Iwa, three from Taki, two teams from Kusa and a single team from Ame. That means there are a total of 111 genin participating. Is there anything else you want to know?" Kabuto asked as he looked up from his card.

"Yes, could you tell us more about the genin from Kiri, Kumo and Iwa?" Shino asked, surprising everyone. It was a rare sight to hear Shino talk.

"Well I can tell you this much, there are only one team from Kiri and Kumo that you should really watch out for. The genin from Iwa aren't much special. From Kiri, you should look out for Cell 17 consisting of Miyamoto Junsai, Nakagawa Suiren, and Hoshigaki Aoi, their sensei being Momoshi Hayashi. All of them know the **Silent Killing** Technique to be a formidable foe, and all three of them know kenjutsu to high genin level. Junsai's taijutsu isn't all that great, but his ninjutsu and genjutsu more than make up for his short coming. Suiren is about average genin level for all other shinobi fields, and Aoi is a very powerful ninjutsu specialist, so his genjutsu is not very good.

Next, in Kumo there is Cell 5 consisting of Samui, Karui, and Omoi, their sensei being a Nii Yugito. Samui is the blonde with short hair, fair skin and a rather large chest. Karui on the other hand, is a darker skinned woman with long red hair, no chest and a foul mouth. Then there's Omoi, only boy of the team. All of them know kenjutsu to be low chunin. Samui's taijutsu is low chunin, her ninjutsu and genjutsu being high genin. Then Karui's taijutsu is low chunin, her ninjutsu is high genin while her genjutsu is mid genin. Omoi is more balanced, all other shinobi fields are in between high genin and low chunin." Kabuto read the information from his cards.

"Kabuto, you have anything on that red head Suna nin with the gourd?" Sasuke immediately asked, wanting to know the reason why that nin felt so, _wrong._

"Oh joy, you don't know the name! Let me see... Ah! Sabaku no Gaara! Odd, there's no information on any of his shinobi fields, just that he uses sand as a weapon, most likely ninjutsu. Gaara's teammates are Sabaku no Kankuro, and Sabaku no Temari, his two older siblings. He's apparently done over 20 B-Ranked missions and not once did he return with a slight scratch on him. What a monster..." Kabuto summarized the information as the Konoha genin stared in shock.

"Fine, one last thing. Tell us more about those guys with the lines down their headbands." Kasumi added, slightly peeved.

"Oh, those are the genin from Amegakure. It's a really new village so no one knows much about that little village." Kabuto said.

"LITTLE?! I'll show you little!" One of the Ame nins said as he punched the glasses wearing nin right in the face. The rain ninja then felt three people restraining him from further injuring Kabuto.

"I suggest you back off, Ame-nin." Natsuki said as she held a kunai to his throat. Sasuke was holding him back while Sai was, drawing on him? Soon a gust of wind was felt in the room, revealing a tall Konoha jonin with a black coat and a bandana covering his head.

**-At the Same Time, Jonin Lounge-**

Again, the jonin senseis along with Yugao, Hayate, Itachi, and some other jonin were sitting down, anxiously wondering how their genin are fairing.

"So, how do you think they're doing?" Asuma asked, breaking the silence.

"I hope they're doing well. You can never know what to expect." Kurenai said.

"Well, we may be seeing them earlier than we'd like. Ibiki's doing the first exam remember?" Kakashi added.

"Ah, you are right my eternal rival!" Gai declared.

"Ibiki? What's so bad about him?" Kurenai asked.

"Oh right, you're one of the newer jonins. Ibiki is the head of T&I." Tenzo said as Yugao opened a bingo book. "In the bingo book, he's put as a low A-Rank nin dubbed the "Mindbreaker". They say he can destroy your mind with words." The purple haired jonin answered.

"Oh how true that is." Kakashi said out loud. Kurenai then looked at him slightly incredulously.

"The last prisoner he's had died of a heart attack after what, 7 minutes? And he was perfectly fine before Ibiki's therapy. Nothing physical, just words. Of course he's going to go a lot easier on the genin." Hayate answered the silent question.

**-Room 301-**

"ALRIGHT MAGGOTS, GET IN A SEAT. YOU FOUR, QUIT SCREWING AROUND BEFORE I BOOT YOU AND YOUR TEAMS FROM THE EXAMS!" The man barked his orders as the genin quickly fell into a seat. The three genin restraining the Ame nin released him and sat down, the rain ninja reluctantly did as well.

"Thank you. I'm Morino Ibiki, your first examiner for the Chunin Exams. Now listen up, there's a couple of rules you should know. This is a written test. So rule number one, you can only look at your paper. Now, your genin team will have 10 points. If anyone in your team gets a question right, you get a point. However, if anyone gets a question wrong, you lose two points. If you're caught cheating three times, your whole team is disqualified. As for the test itself, there are 10 questions in total, nine on the page and one at the end. Understood?" Ibiki shouted to the genin in front of him. No one answered the man.

"Good, the watchers have finished handing out the tests, you have an hour. Test starts now!" Ibiki barked as everyone hurriedly flipped the pages and was greeted with nine, very difficult questions. Of course, some of the smarter nin such as Sakura were still able to answer them.

_"Damn, I don't think I can answer any other questions... Damn it. Wait, why would he give us three chances to cheat? Unless..."_ Sasuke thought to himself.

_"The goal is to cheat without getting caught!"_ Sayuri finished that thought in her own mind. The two then activated their Sharingans and discreetly scanned the room for people they assumed to had the answers. Sayuri saw Sakura writing some answers and copied her writing, while Sasuke found an odd ninja beside him filling out the answers with no issues.

Some of the genin were doing fine. Hinata and Neji were using their **Byakugan **to scan the pages, while Shino was getting information from his kikaichu. Shikamaru, somehow already figuring out that these nine questions didn't matter, simply left the page blank and went to sleep. Kiba was having Akamaru tell him the answers as the pup was on Kiba's head. The most interesting method of cheat was Tenten, who used many mirrors on ninja wire to get reflections of the answers. Beyond that, very few resorted to using their kunai to get reflections, a Kumo ninja actually unsheathing their katana and doing the same.

However, most people were not having such an easy time.

"Genin 100, 101, 102. Get out of here!" Ibiki barked as another team grumbled and walked out, this time it was an Iwa team.

"Numbers 64, 65, 66. Leave now!" Ibiki shouted as another team grudgingly left, this time a Konoha team.

That's how the next hour was.

**-One Hour Later-**

One hour has passed, and the room was nowhere near as cluttered as an hour prior.

"Alright maggots, flip your tests back, time's up!" Ibiki shouted as the genin worriedly did as ordered.

"Alright, as you may know, this will be the tenth question. But before I give it to you, there's more rules to it." Ibiki explained.

"HEY! What the hell's with all these rules?!" An Iwa genin stood up and protested against the jonin.

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP MAGGOT! I'm the one running this exam, so you play by my book. Anyone else want to test me?" Ibiki hissed as the genin paled and fell back in his seat.

"Very well then. This test has new rules as I said before. Rule number one, you may choose not to take the question, a-" Ibiki was cut off by more protests.

"SERIOUSLY?! We came this far and you think that we're just going to back off?!" A genin from Kiri shouted.

"SHUT UP! You may choose not to take the last question and have another chance at the next Chunin Exams, this means that your teammates will have to wait as well. If you do take the question, but get it wrong, then you will be BANNED from ever taking the Chunin Exams ever again!" Ibiki shouted again, louder than before causing many genin to pale.

"Now sit down, if you want to leave, just speak up." Ibiki said as the genin sat down while several hands shot up.

"Alright Genin number 76, 77, 78, 88, 89, 90. You may leave." Ibiki said as six genin left the room. Then more genin decided to leave and not risk losing their chance to become a chunin.

"Is that all?" Ibiki said as he mentally counted the teams. _"So that's five teams from Konoha, Three from Kumo, Two from Kiri, Three from Suna, Two from Iwa, One from Kusa and Two from Ame. So 18 teams total, 54 genin. Damn, Anko's not gonna let this down."  
_

"To hell with your Kami forsaken rules!" A defiant voice shouted, clearly that of a girl.

"Excuse me? If you be so kind to stand up and repeat that, genin." Ibiki said dangerously. Natsuki then stood up, surprising every Konoha genin.

_"And she's supposed to be the quiet one..."_ Most Konoha genin thought to themselves.

"I said, TO HELL WITH YOUR RULES! We're all ninja here, we know the risks. We all make improvements, so who the hell are you to stop us from improving?!" Natsuki shouted back. Ibiki was surprised, not many people had the guts to talk back to him, he scared most chunin and even some jonin and ANBU.

"You keep on saying "Is that all?" like you've got better things to do! Does it look like anyone else is going to leave? Well?!" Natsuki shouted again. Again, everyone was very shocked as after a couple moments, Ibiki burst into a roaring laugh.

"You're the first one to stand up for yourself, or everyone. So I take it that no one else is backing out?!" Ibiki asked the group and all saw that they were filled with determination, one that wasn't there before.

"Very well then. YOU... PASS!" Ibiki said in a booming voice. Of course, everyone only gaped at the man before demanding answers.

"WHAT?! IF WE PASSED THEN WHAT WAS THE LAST QUESTION?!" Was the collective question.

"The last question was whether you stayed or not. And if you're wondering, the first nine did have a purpose. The questions on the written test was to evaluate your information gathering skills. If you made yourself too obvious, then you got kicked out, like you would die if someone caught you spying on them for intel. As for the last question, did you back out because the odds were impossible, that it was too dangerous? NO! You said it yourself, you know the risks of being a shinobi, so you do the mission! Sometimes, things don't always go as planned, but you knew the possibility! Sometimes y-" Ibiki was cut off in his rant as a black ball of sorts shot into the room, breaking the mirror. The ball revealed a massive banner with a woman with purple hair, mesh armour, a beige coat, and orange skirt. Then the banner fell and revealed some very large writting.

"Heads up kiddies, this is no time to be celebrating, the fun's just starting. I'm Konoha's Number One Hottest, Sexy, Single Kunoichi, Mitarashi Anko!" The woman declared as Ibiki then popped from behind the banner.

"Damn it Anko, you're early, again..." Ibiki growled as the woman gave a sheepish grin.

"Wait a second, 54 genin?! You let 18 teams pass?! You're gettin soft 'Biki." Anko said after counting the number of genin.

"They're really good, trust me." Ibiki said as he came out from behind the banner.

"Oh, are they? Oh well, I'll cut the numbers in half at least. Anyways, if you're up for it, meet me by Training ground 44 in 10 minutes for the next exam!" Anko said as she jumped out the window, the genin scattering and clearing the room, leaving Ibiki and the testers to clean up the papers. Shortly after, one of the testers brought a page to Ibiki.

"Sir, you might want to take a look at this." The man said as Ibiki took the page and read the note.

"Keep an eye on Yakushi Kabuto, he has far too much information than a normal genin should." Ibiki said to himself. "Who wrote this?"

"Sorry sir, we weren't paying attention to where the genin were sitting. Why?" The man said.

"We have a possible spy in our midst. Head over to the Hokage and pass the message, we don't know who we're dealing with." Ibiki said as the man nodded and left.

**-Ten Minutes Later, Training Ground 44-**

"Welcome all, glad you came. Now, this lovely forest featuring giant tigers, overgrown snakes, and other nasty creatures is what we lovingly call "The Forest of Death". The goal for this exam is simple, survive for 5 days and 5 nights in it's hospitality. Oh, you also have to reach the tower in the center of the forest with a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll, though you only start with one of them." Anko said with a slightly dreamy expression as she munched on a piece of dango.

"Forest of Death, what kind of crap is that?! I was expecting a challenge!" A blonde Uzumaki girl shouted to the proctor. Anko then threw a kunai at her at amazing speeds, but only making sure to leave a small cut on her cheek.

"Oh don't worry little genin." Anko said as she proceeded to... lick the blood? "This should prove to be a fun challenge for all!" Anko then tensed as she felt a presence behind her, revealing a Kusa genin with a straw hat and a freakishly long tong, holding Anko's kunai with said tongue.

"Forgive me, proctor-san. I was just returning your kunai." The genin said as Anko then plucked her weapon from the tongue.

"Hmm... Thanks?" Anko said afterwards, then jumping back onto the fence.

"But what about food?!" Choji exclaimed as he munched on his barbeque chips.

"Oh well, you'll have to hunt. I hear there's a very large tiger that tastes absolutely delicious when barbequed, along with some herbs and possibly man eating plants." Anko said as another nin appeared beside her, revealing one blonde jonin.

"Dear Kami, that entire place is a complete health hazard. It took me ages to set seals around the entire perimeter, let alone the entire forest! By the way, I always knew you were bloodthirsty, just not literally." The blonde exclaimed.

"Oh you're done already 'Ruto?" Anko then turned to the group of genin below her. "Did I forget to mention that there are several traps all over the place? Anyways, there are some rules you might want to know. Rule number one: Don't open the scroll until you reach the tower! Rule two: If you don't make it to the tower with both scrolls and both your teammates living within the 5 day limit, you're disqualified. As for a word of advice, try not to die. Now head on over to the tent to grab a scroll for your team. Then wait by one of the gates leading into the forest." Anko ushered the genin as a person from each team went to grab a scroll.

**-Team 6-**

"Heaven's scroll." Sai said with a fake smile plastered on his face, switching the scroll with a fake one and handing the real Heaven's scroll to Natsuki.

"We should wait a day or two before we attack anyone. Some of the teams will be tired by then and we'll have the upper hand." Natsuki said. Kasumi nodded and then Team 6 walked over to Gate 6.

**-Team 7-**

"Alright, we got a Heaven's scroll." Sasuke said as he returned to his team.

"I say we should wait a day before attacking any of the other teams, that way we could set some traps and some of the teams will be tired." Sakura suggested as the two Uchiha nodded.

"We should get as close as we can to the tower today and then rest. Sakura, can you put a genjutsu on yourself so it looks like you have the scroll?" Sayuri added as the Uchiha pocketed the scroll.

"Sure, I won't have the scroll, so they'll be disappointed if they try to get it form me." Sakura replied quietly. The other two nodded as Team 7 approached Gate number 7.

**-Team 8-**

"Kiba-san, Hinata-san. We have an Earth's scroll." Shino said as he planted some bugs on it and hid it in a pouch.

"Alright! Hopefully we can find a team with the Heaven's scroll early and be done with it!" Kiba exclaimed.

"K-Kiba-kun, perhaps - you should - be more quiet. We don't - want anyone to- know th- that we have the E- Earth's scroll." Hinata stuttered shyly. Kiba then saw the logic in her words and nodded.

**-Team 9-**

"YOSH! LET US FAN OUR FLAMES OF YOUTH IN THIS EXAM!" Lee declared youthfully as his two teammates sighed.

"We have an Earth scroll, do you think anyone will suspect Lee of having it?" Tenten said as she sighed.

"Tch, it does not matter. Fate as decreed that we will succeed regardless of who has it." Neji said arrogantly, it appears that Fate has not removed his or her stick from his ass...

"Damn... I hate my teammates." Tenten halfheartedly muttered to herself.

**-Team 10-**

"Neh Shika, take the Heaven scroll." Ino said to her teammate as Shikamaru sighed.

"Troublesome woman... why should I hold on to it?" Shikamaru stared at the cloudless sky.

"Shika-baka! You can make a plan easy enough, so it only makes sense that you have it!" Ino said as she smacked the back of his head.

"Ino has a point you know. Just take it, there won't be clouds for you to watch during this anyways." Choji said as he reasoned with his Nara friend.

"Fine fine... this whole thing is troublesome anyways." Shikamaru hesitantly took the scroll and pocketed it.

"ALRIGHT KIDDIES! LISTEN UP! THIS IS YOUR PROCTOR MITARASHI ANKO SPEAKING! THE GATES WILL OPEN IN A MINUTE, BUT YOU WON'T BE LEAVING UNTIL I SAY GO!" Anko said with a megaphone. She then sweatdropped as no one moved a muscle.

"HEY GAKIS! I SAID GO DIDN'T I? GET A MOVE ON!" Anko shouted as everyone snapped out of their surprise and bolted into the forest. She then tried to reach for a box of dango, only to find a pile of sticks.

"Not this time Anko-san." Naruto chided the dango lover.

"Aww, you know you wanna gimme some more dango blondie! You know you like me." Anko said slightly seductively.

"Sorry Anko, as nice of a person you are after the bloodthirstiness and whatnot, I don't feel like betraying my shining beauty. But you might wanna check up on Itachi though." Naruto said jokingly. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to the jonin lounge at the tower, then take a nap or something. Unlike you I have to help maintain the seals with Jiraiya..." Naruto groaned as he shunpo'd away, leaving a confused Anko.

**-Day One, Forest of Death-**

Nothing major had occurred in the first day people were in the forest. Each genin slowly tiring, but no one had gained a second scroll as of yet. However, several of Naruto's traps were activated, giving some of the teams a pleasant scare. Some had a hail of senbon shoot in all directions, while others had delayed explosions, and one even exploded into paint, covering a large clearing with neon yellow paint.

Now, it was nearing the end of the first day in the forest, with Jiraiya panting as he tried to keep all of the security seals active from the tower, and it took quite a few tags to cover the perimeter of the forest. The door opened revealing Naruto.

"Alright gaki, switch in with me. I still wish I didn't have to do this." Jiraiya said as his thoughts turned to his research. Oh just think of all the hot babes he's missing out at the hot spa...

"Yeah well, Hokage-sama can't exactly leave his duties to do this either." Naruto grumbled as he kneeled by the master seal and began channeling chakra into it. Jiraiya then grumbled something incoherent and left Naruto, most likely wanting to peep at the bathhouse.

* * *

**-Day Two, Forest of Death-**

Dawn had come as some of the genin were adjusting to the light while one of their teammates kept watch. Team 6 was clashing with a group of Iwa genin.

CLANG

Sai's tanto was pressed down against one of the Iwa genin's kunai, said Iwa nin growling.

"Now now dickless, I know you're mad but you shouldn't be rash and try to defend yourself. It only makes things look more suspicious against you.." Sai said as he smiled back, infuriating the Iwa nin.

"I'll kill you!" The Iwa genin overpowered Sai and tried to slash at him but missed horribly.

"How about this? You give us your scroll and we let you off now, or we beat you and take the scroll from you. If you hadn't noticed, your teammates are done for now." Sai offered. The genin turned to his teammates and was surprised when both of them were unconscious and piled on top of another. Beside the Iwa genin's teammate was the Konoha nin's teammates, relaxing. The blonde girl looked rather familiar...

"DAMN YOU TO HELL NAMIKAZE!" The Iwa genin gave one desperate shout as he darted towards one of the Namikaze offsprings, this one was blonde. Before he reached the blonde girl, the red head Konoha nin rushed towards him and elbowed him in the chest, knocking all air out of his lungs.

"Don't even think of trying to resist. Now the scroll?" Natsuki said coldly as she pressed a kunai to his neck, just drawing blood.

"Tch... As if I'll tell a b-" The genin then fell unconscious as Sai knocked him cold with a swift chop to the neck.

"Sorry, I didn't want to hear dickless complaining about chestless..." Sai said as he searched the genin's pouches. The Uzumaki twins shrugged off Sai's antics and proceeded to do the same with the other two genin.

"Ahah! I found the scroll and it's even an Earth scroll!" Kasumi called out to her teammates as she tossed the Earth scroll to Sai.

"You should hold on to it Sai." Kasumi said, receiving a nod.

"Alright then, let's try to get to the tower as soon as we can." Natsuki said as Team 6 jumped for the trees and headed towards the tower.

**-With Team 7-**

Some distance away was Team 7 jumping through the trees as they slowly made their way to the tower. They soon reached a clearing but saw two teams fighting and decided to hide in the trees and watch the fight for now. Their eyes widened however, as they saw a Suna team with the same group they ran into before. A guy in black cat-like pajamas or something with make-up on and a package on his back. A girl with blonde hair in four ponytails and a giant fan on her back. Finally, the genin of Team 7 shivered as they saw and remembered the red haired boy with a gourd, Gaara.

Down in the clearing was that team from Suna against a team of Ame ninja. However, only Gaara was actually attacking the nin, and seemed to be doing more than fine.

"Mother calls for your blood." Gaara said as he launched his sand at the three rain ninja. The sand then wrapped around one of the nin who was screaming for help and mercy.

"Mercy? No, Mother does not give mercy, she want's your blood!" Gaara said insanely as the sand covered the nin and crushed him. The muffled screams of pain were heard through the sand as the mutilated corpse was spat out of the sand

"P-please! Just take our scroll and leave us!" One of the Ame nin said as he shakily took out the scroll and tossed it over to Temari who caught it and smiled.

"It's the right scroll Kankuro! Gaara, leave them, we're going!" Temari said as she pocketed the scroll.

"Oh are we? Mother is still not satisfied! Her screams of disgust weep for more!" Gaara cackled as Temari and Kankuro shivered.

"Gaara! You should listen to your sister." Temari added.

"Well then, sister. Let me finish up here, and then we may leave." Gaara said coldly as he commanded his sand to attack the two helpless rain ninja. The sand then stabbed through one of them and grabbed the other's leg, throwing it around and finally slamming him into the ground. The sand finally released the nin as he gasped for air and cried in pain. His relief was short-lived as he felt several spikes of sand stab him repeatedly, spill blood everywhere in the sand and killing him.

"Let us go, brother, sister." Gaara said as the two could only nod, not wanting to be fed to his "mother".

Luckily for Team 7, they were not detected.

"Dear Kami, that's brutal." Sakura gasped.

"How about we take a detour and avoid running into them? I prefer not to end up like they did." Sasuke suggested as the team changed course and decided to travel around the area.

* * *

**-End of Day Three, Forest of Death-  
**

Much like the previous day, there wasn't much happening. There were few scuffles between teams as most genin resorted to ambush. Teams 9 and 10 had finally gotten the other scroll, from an unsuspecting team of Suna and Kumo ninja respectively. However, one team from Iwa was unfortunate enough to walk into one of Naruto's set traps, and were instantly sent back unconscious.

Of course Jiraiya was once again stuck in the tower, maintaining the security seals rather dutifully.

_"Damn it gaki, you better get here fast. You're costing me a lot of research and time to relax..."_ Jiraiya grumbled in his mind as he saw Naruto coming through the door.

"Feel free to leave for today." Naruto said as he switched positions with the Toad Sage.

"Think you can be earlier?" Jiraiya said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Nope, I tend to lose myself upon the road of life." Naruto said politely, only serving to making the hermit annoyed if the tick marks meant anything.

* * *

**-Day Four, Forest of Death-**

After waking up and feeling more well rested, Team 7 prepared themselves for any possible attacks. Seeing no one attacking them, they continued their detour to the tower and jumped for the trees yet again.

After a few hours, they had found a clearing to rest and go over their plan.

"Alright, we only have enough food for the rest of the day, so after a few minutes we'll try and look for food. Remember, stay close and come back here in five minutes, so we can get to each other if someone attacks. If we don't find anything, then we'll regroup here and go find a river or something as a team." Sasuke reminded his teammates who nodded in return. Sakura then sat down to recover some strength, while Sasuke stood up and kept a look out for any enemies. Sayuri on the other hand left to find some plants and herbs.

"AAHHH!"

Sayuri's scream echoed as Sasuke and Sakura snapped their heads in that direction.

**-With Sayuri-**

While she was picking an herb, she felt someone watching her and instantly turned around, greeted by an Ame ninja with a gas mask of sorts.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**" The Ame nin slammed his hand down and a seal array appeared on the ground as a giant brown salamander was summoned.

"Salamanders?!" Sayuri's eyes widened as she felt something hit her hard in the back.

"AAHHH!" The Uchiha girl was sent into a tree, and the next one. Sayuri stood up shakily and thought she saw a paler man with longer hair in place of the Ame nin.

"Who are you?!" Sayuri demanded as she discreetly went through the hand-seals for a fire technique.

"I do not have to ans-" "**Katon: Endan!**"

The Ame nin was cut off from his explanation as a flame shot at him. The rain ninja easily dodged it, though the lizard did not have the same reaction, causing it to hiss in pain as the fire burned the tail, forcing the salamander to cut off it's tail and disappear in a plume of smoke.

"My aren't you feisty." The rain ninja said, but then snapped to another direction as Sasuke and Sakura appeared from the trees.

"Oh well, now I'm at a disadvantage, I suppose I best be retreating for now." The rain ninja said as he disappeared.

" *Sigh*, Thanks for coming." Sayuri thanked her teammates who nodded in return.

"We really should make a codeword of sorts. What if an enemy henges as one of us?" Sakura suggested as she rubbed her forehead.

"Alright then. This is it so listen carefully." Sasuke said as he continued in a whisper. "A group of loud enemies is a shinobi's best friend. A shinobi must hide in the dark, in complete silence, and wait for the enemy to be tired and ill prepared. That is when a shinobi should strike." Sasuke finished as he scanned the area, his warning bells ringing like crazy. Just then a kunai with an explosive tag was thrown towards the group, and Sakura called it.

"Scatter!" The pink haired genin shouted as the three jumped away into separate hiding places. Sasuke found his way in a bush, Sayuri high in a tree top and Sakura in a hollow tree. Sayuri then spotted Sasuke and regrouped with him.

"Wait! What is the right time to strike?" Sasuke said as he held out a kunai.

"A group of loud enemies is a shinobi's best friend. A shinobi must hide in the dark, in complete silence, and wait for the enemy to be tired and ill prepared. That is when a shinobi should strike." Sayuri said. Sasuke then slowly dropped his guard, but brought it back up as the two saw Sakura coming.

"Stop! What's the right time to strike?!" Sayuri shouted. Sasuke then discreetly activated his Sharingan, two tomoes spinning wildly.

"A group of loud enemies is a shinobi's b-"

Sasuke then launched a kunai at high speeds towards Sakura.

"Who are you?" Both Uchiha demanded, Sasuke pulling out another kunai.

"What are you talking about? I was saying the codeword b-" Sakura said but was cut off again.

"You're not Sakura, her henges are much better than that, and I can see through it, so drop it." Sasuke warned. Sakura's form disappeared, leaving a taller grass ninja with a straw hat, purple rope tied to his or her waist and a long tongue.

"Well well. I congratulate you for figuring out." The grass nin said as he/she/it pulled out an earth scroll.

**-With Sakura-**

"Ugh, where am I?" Sakura mumbled to herself as she stood up, and was greeted by a giant brown snake.

"Snakes?! The only person who summons snakes this big is Anko though!" Sakura shouted to herself. Then the snake lunged at her. Sakura was able to dodge, but felt that someone was watching her.

_"Oh this isn't good... I have to finish this_ _fast."_ Sakura thought as she quickly slapped some explosive tags on a few kunai, while the snake opened its gaping mouth. Sakura then launched all the kunai at the snake, some going inside its mouth and exploding. With another hiss of pain, the snake exploded in smoke. Sakura sighed but then pulled out a kunai.

"Show yourself! I know you're there!" Sakura said as she tried to distinguish the familiar chakra. Then the chakra faded as Sakura heard leaves rustle, signifying that someone was indeed there.

" *Sigh*, now where's... My team!" Sakura shouted to herself as she leaped through the trees towards the clearing her teammates should be in.

**-Elsewhere-**

Naruto was found panting, sweat slowly dripping from his face. He then tried to turn to his right as a Toad sage appeared.

"Well, thanks for visiting, but I do believe that it isn't your turn yet." Naruto asked rather tiredly.

"Gaki, I just came to chat a bit, there's no women at the bathhouses." Jiraiya said sadly as Naruto sweatdropped but nodded. Just as he was going to say something, he felt chakra being summoned in the form of a snake, along with an unwanted guest with a familiar signature. Naruto's eyes widened as he jumped to his feet, letting Jiraiya take over.

"Jiraiya-sama, I think there's an unwanted guest interfering in the form of a Snake master." Naruto said as he popped a soldier pill into his mouth, letting the energy return to him. Jiraiya then nodded.

"What are you going to do? You can't interfere." Jiraiya said.

"Do you think that those genin out there are safe if Orochimaru's there?! Exams or not, he shouldn't be here." Naruto said as he walked out the door. The Toad Hermit then sighed as he began to pour a very small but steady flow of chakra into the master seal.

**-Elsewhere, With Anko-**

"And you said that you found them here yesterday? How long do you think they've been dead?" Anko inquired the two chunin beside her as she examined the three corpses. Three dead genin from Kusa, all of them had their faces ripped off...

"Hai, Anko-san. They look like they've been dead since the start of the second part of the Chunin Exams." The male chunin reported.

"Tch... Damn it, this is definitely _his _work." Anko cursed under her breath, but then she turned to the pair of ninja. "You two, report to Hokage-sama, fast! I'm going in the Forest to search for the perpetrator. If he's targeted these three, he's going to be disguised as genin in the exams!" Anko shouted as the two chunin nodded and jumped away. Anko cursed once more as she left the site to pursue her ex-sensei while channeling chakra into her feet.

_"What in the name of Kami is _he_ doing here?!"_ Anko thought to herself as she clutched her shoulder, hiding a certain mark.

**-With Sasuke and Sayuri-**

"Well, you want my Earth Scroll don't you? You do have a Heaven scroll after all." The Kusa ninja then proceeded to... swallow the scroll whole.

"Let us begin the battle for the scrolls... With our lives on the line." The Kusa nin the blasted Killer intent at the two genin.

Both genin saw themselves die brutally. _"This, this is stronger than Zabuza's. It's monstrous. Who is this guy?!"_ Were their thoughts as they tried to resist the urge to kill themselves. Sasuke then forced himself to take a kunai out of his pouch.

_"We have to move, if we stay here, we're going to die. So Move!"_ Sasuke said as he attempted to move his arm. The Uchiha then stabbed himself in the thigh and tackled Sayuri to the ground, dodging the hail of kunai.

_"Oh, he used the feeling of pain to override the feeling of fear. Such a great prey, Kukuku..."_ The grass nin thought to himself. He then turned to his left as he saw someone approaching.

"Alright, who are you?! That snake was definitely yours and you're no Anko." Sakura shouted as she landed by Sasuke and Sayuri who tensed.

"It's me Sakura. A group of loud enemies is a shinobi's best friend. A shinobi must hide in the dark, in complete silence, and wait for the enemy to be tired and ill prepared. That is when a shinobi should strike." Sakura rushed through the phrase as the two Uchiha visibly relaxed slightly.

"Oh, so you've successfully defeated my little pet." The grass ninja said.

"Sakura, Sasuke. We have to run _now_! We can't fight him off!" Sayuri said to her teammates who nodded.

"Hey, take this, and let us leave." Sasuke said as he pulled out the Heaven scroll.

"Oh, how smart. Escaping the predator by giving it a different meal." The grass nin chuckled with the long tongue flickering out at the end, too much like a snake.

"Take it!" Sasuke threw the scroll at the enemy, but was surprised when a kunai shot through it and pinned it to a tree. Both parties turned to the direction the kunai came from and saw a slightly beat up Team 6.

"What the hell?! Why'd you do that?" Sakura shouted.

"You said it yourself, _dickless_. Offering something to the predator to escape. But what if he's not satisfied?" Sai said.

"My my, you are correct." The grass nin said as he bit his thumb and rolled up his left sleeve and wiped blood on an interesting looking seal.

"Sasuke, Sayuri, Sakura. We should team up against him, hopefully we can get away. In case you were wondering, his teammates ambushed us." Natsuki explained. With a kunai in hand, Natsuki and Kasumi rushed in to attack.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**" The enemy said as the wind picked up and whirled around the Kusa ninja. Shortly after, smoke appeared and out form the smoke was a giant snake's head.

"Enjoy your dessert." He said as the snake lunged at the two jinchuuriki. Both girls were sent far as the snake went to pursue the two, but the chase was short as both Uzumaki girls rebounded and shot at the snake.

**"**Oh hell no!**"** Both girls shouted as their features became slightly more feral, indicating that the Kyuubi's chakra is present.

_"These brats... Wait a second, those eyes. Kukuku, yes there's no doubt about it now." _The grass nin thought to himself as he saw the changes. The enemy landed on a nearby branch as the snake then lunged at the group of four ninja, still in shock that Natsuki and Kasumi were this strong. They were however, too late to react as the snake was very close to them, but was once again surprised as both Natsuki and Kasumi struggled to keep the snake from attacking.

**"**Hey, get a move on...**"** Kasumi winced as she held back the snake with her twin, Natsuki nodded to the group. Just then, a very long tongue wrapped itself around Natsuki, pulling her up above the snake.

**"**ARRG! Let me go!**" **Natsuki struggled against it, but to no avail.

"Interesting..." The Kusa ninja said as he lifted up her shirt just uncovering her stomach, as it revealed a complex, spiral like seal array. "Oh my, the seal is visible as well. Interesting indeed. So you are the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki... When your emotions heighten, the Kyuubi's energy overflows you." The enemy said as five purple flames lit up his finger tips.

"**Gogyo Fuin!**" The man said as he drove his fingertips into the seal, twisting it clockwise much like a lock, all while Natsuki screamed in pain.

"Hey bastard! What did you do to my nee-chan?!" Kasumi said as some kunai sailed towards the grass ninja.

_"It seems that the Kyuubi and that brat are beginning to fuse, however at this point they are of no threat or use." _The man thought to himself as he threw Natsuki's unconscious body over at a tree. Everyone widened their eyes as they saw the height, but Sakura was able to throw a kunai, catching the girl and pinning her to the tree by her shirt.

"Kukuku... Don't worry now, you'll be joining her soon enough." The nin cackled as he leaned back to dodge a kunai. His tongue shot out quickly and wrapped around Kasumi.

"**Gogyo Fuin**" The grass ninja repeated the process and slammed five fingers over the seal. Kasumi screamed in pain as she eventually fell unconscious.

"Sayuri, Sakura! Go help Natsuki and Kasumi! Sai and I will hold him off for a bit!" Sasuke shouted as his Sharingan spun fiercely. Sai nodded as he took out a paint brush and a scroll and began doodling for his techniques.

"**Choju Giga**" Sai said as several snakes of ink shot from the scroll and towards the enemy.

"**Sen'eijashu**" The man said as he thrusted his hand. Several real snakes shot from his sleeve and attacked the ink drawings, causing them to explode.

"**Katon: Karyudan!**" Sasuke said as he finished some hand-seals. He then shot a large stream of fire at the attacking nin, while Sai took the liberty of throwing some kunai with exploding tags on them behind the fire. The two females of Team 7 saw this and also threw some of their own kunai and shuriken at the snake. The enemy nin jumped off the large snake, which hissed in pain as it disappeared in smoke.

"Well, I must congratulate you once again. You've barely been able to defeat my pet. Barely, but a feat nonetheless, especially for genin like you." The man cackled, but then turned his gaze south-west, and north.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to end this. But for now I leave Uchiha-kun with a gift." The man cackled yet again as his neck extended much longer than anything really should. The now airborne head shot towards Sasuke and circled the raven haired genin. Then the head proceeded to bit down on Sasuke's right shoulder, injecting its chakra into his circulatory system.

"UUUAAAHH!" Sasuke shouted in pain as he fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder as it formed a mark in the shape of three black tomoe.

"What did you do to him?!" Sakura and Sayuri shouted to the man as his form began sinking into the ground.

"Kukuku... Nothing I didn't say. I merely left him a parting gift. He is weak, and will come to me, Orochimaru of the Sannin to seek power." Everyone's eyes widened as they heard his name. Orochimaru cackled madly again as his head finally sunk into the ground, disappearing from sight.

"Sakura, Sayuri. Get Natsuki and Kasumi. We have to hide for now. Both of our teammates are greatly weakened, and I believe that we will need them to finish." Sai said as he grabbed the now unconscious Uchiha boy.

**-Sasuke's Mind-**

Sasuke woke up to a rather blank space, literally. Everything was completely white, save for himself. Then the world slowly became darker as Sasuke looked around on his guard, shortly after, a figure appeared from the darkness. After seconds, the figure revealed to be a younger Sasuke, who appeared to be around four or five.

"I want to become a ninja like you and tou-san!" The younger Sasuke declared with pride. The real Sasuke then saw a memory from his past. The world changed to the Uchiha Compound, or his house to be more specific.

"Oh? And why is that little Sasuke?" Itachi inquired in a kind voice.

"I want to protect Nee-chan so the bad guys don't take her away again!" The young Sasuke declared once again. Itachi in the memory chuckled at the younger Sasuke's antics and patted his head, while the real Sasuke chuckled at his enthusiasm.

**"**You are weak...**"** A slightly demonic voice said as the world grew even darker.

**"**How can you protect your sister, if your so **weak**...**" **The voice repeated as a taller figure emerged from the darkness. **"**You are** weak**,** useless**...**"**

"Shut up!" Sasuke said as he tried to resist the sudden temptation.

**"**I can give you the power you desire Sasuke-kun... Come with me, Orochimaru of the Sannin!**"** The voice called out.

"NO! No, never!" Sasuke said as he held his head in pain.

**"**Kukuku... Even now you are weak... Either way you shall receive a morsel of my power Kukuku!**"** The figure said as Sasuke then lost consciousness.

**-Forest of Death, With Team 6 and 7-**

"Not good, Sasuke, Natsuki and Kasumi are all unconscious, and we aren't doing to well ourselves." Sakura said as she sat down by her teammates. "We should stick together for now." The bubblegum haired genin added.

"It would be for the best, though I can not say I am keen at being around a chestless girl." Sai said as he forced a smile. Sakura's eye twitched as Sayuri sighed.

"Now isn't the time Sai, Sakura. You should go set up some traps just in case..." Sayuri said as she tended to her unconscious comrades' injuries. Sakura and Sai nodded as they pulled out some ninja wire and left to set up some traps.

_"This isn't good... We only have one of the scrolls and Sasuke-nii is unconscious, and Natsuki and Kasumi. Everyone else is pretty much spent too..." _Sayuri thought to herself.

**-With Anko-**

"**Sen'eijashu!**" Anko shouted as a group of snakes shot from her sleeve towards a figure leaning on a tree.

"Now now _Anko-chan_, that was rather impolite Kukuku..." Orochimaru said as his form rose from the tree branch nearby.

"You have no right to call me that, or be here." Anko hissed as she threw a hail of shuriken at the legendary ninja, who easily dodged them are appeared behind Anko.

"Kukuku... No need to be so rude to your _sensei_..." Orochimaru said as he dodged another kunai.

"Grrr... What are you doing here?!" Anko demanded as she jumped back a distance.

"What am I doing here? Whatever do you mean? I am simply just observing some of Konoha's potential chunin." Orochimaru lied through his teeth.

"Bullshit! Why did my seal appear again and react?! I know enough about it to realize that you marked someone else!" Anko shouted back as she disappeared and pinned her ex-sensei to a tree, hands forming an odd hand-seal.

"Hahaha! That's right! You should know what this one is! **Sojasosai no Jutsu!**" Anko shouted after manipulating her chakra. Shortly after, two snakes slithered out of Anko's sleeves and coiled around the interlocking hands. Before the snakes could bite down, Orochimaru's form exploded into mud, revealing that it was replaced by a Mud clone.

"Sorry my dear Anko. You've improved, but no where near the level to stop me!" Orochimaru cackled as he formed a strange hand-seal. Underneath Anko's coat, three black tomoes appeared and glowed red, causing Anko to scream in pain and grab her shoulder, eventually losing consciousness to the overwhelming pain.

**-With Naruto-**

"DAMN IT!" Naruto cursed to the heavens as he landed in a clearing. "Kami damn it! Orochimaru was just here!" Naruto growled, but the calmed down as he tried to search for people around the area, and was lucky to find a group in a hollow tree, the opening facing away from the clearing. Naruto sighed and ran over to the clearing but was greeted with a surprise.

"Naruto-nii!" A girl shouted as Naruto walked to the opening. The blonde snapped his head to the hollow tree and saw the genin of Teams 6 and 7, Sasuke, Natsuki, and Kasumi unconscious.

"Shh... It's okay Sayuri-chan, I'm here. Look, I need to know something." Naruto said seriously to the Uchiha girl who nodded as tears began forming, her worries re-emerging.

"Has a ninja known as Orochimaru of the Sannin been here?" Naruto asked. Sayuri's eyes widened as she replayed the scene in her mind.

"Y-yeah. Orochimaru attacked us. He did something weird to Sasuke-nii and bit him, there's some kind of mark on his shoulder. He also did some weird seal to Natsuki and Kasumi." Sayuri explained as Sai woke up.

"Who are you..." Sai said as he re-adjusted his eyes to the light.

"A comrade, now I'm going to take a look at Sasuke. If it's what I think it is then I have to work fast." Naruto said as he walked over to the unconscious Uchiha, taking his shirt off revealing a bruised chest and a pattern of three tomoe on his right shoulder.

"Damn it..." Naruto said as he took out a brush and a bottle of ink.

"What's wrong with Sasuke-san?" Sai asked the jonin.

"Orochimaru of the Sannin bit him, and gave him a cursed seal. I only saw research notes of the early stages of this, but nothing that will really help me now. The hickey basically gives Sasuke power, but slowly eats away at his sanity. I'll do what I can to hold it off, but I can't do anything permanent as of now." Naruto said as he drew complex seals around the three tomoe, eventually branching off the symbols. Once finished, Naruto quickly went through a long chain of hand-seals. Ending at the Rat seal, Naruto shouted.

"**Fuja Hoin!**"

The seals glowed and retracted into a circle, surrounding the Cursed Seal of the Heaven.

"Anyways, that should keep it from eating at Sasuke's sanity for now, once he wakes up, tell him everything and to avoid at all costs. I'll explain it to him with more detail after this. Some of the energy may leak out when he wakes up so keep that in mind." The blonde jonin said as he shunpo'd towards another familiar signature.

**-Somewhere in the Forest-**

Naruto reappeared near a familiar energy signature. Pausing to look around, Naruto saw a mop of purple hair. Of course Naruto got closer and it revealed to be an unconscious Anko on a tree branch.

_"Tch... I can't find Orochimaru's signature anymore... I better get Anko to the_ _hospital..."_ Naruto thought to himself as he picked up the older woman bridal style and flashed to the Hospital.

**-Day Five, Forest of Death-**

Teams 6 and 7 were ambushed at dawn while Sasuke, Kasumi and Natsuki were still out cold. Luckily or unluckily, Sasuke woke up in time to help out, but evil energy surrounded him. At that time, Sai was bleeding from his side, while Sakura was barely able to stand. Team 10 was also there, while Team 9 was simply watching from the trees, save for Lee who was heavily injured. With power overflowing his body, Sasuke was able to fight off the three enemies, who were Sound ninja and much stronger than the average genin. Sayuri's concern for her brother allowed the Curse Seal to retreat back into the seal. The sound ninja gave up their earth scroll to Team 7 to leave without being injured even further, as one had cuts and bruises here and there while the other had a dislocated arm.

Team 9 left the scene quickly to avoid being disqualified for being late. At the same time, Natsuki and Kasumi regained consciousness and Teams 6, 7, and 10 left for the tower together. On the way, they ran into Kabuto, who decided to travel with them to meet up with his own teammates near the tower. Unfortunately for the group, they were ambushed just before reaching the tower, but were able to defeat the attacker and enter the tower.

**-Midday, The Tower with Kabuto-**

"Is this all the information?" A man said as Kabuto handed the man a card.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama. I've written all the information of him in that card." Kabuto replied.

"I want your opinion, as our spy" Orochimaru said as he carefully looked over the data.

"That would be unnecessary Orochimaru-sama, since its you who decides everything."Kabuto replied once more.

"Your intelligence is amazing, Good work..." Orochimaru said as he disappeared.

**-With the Genin-**

There was a board with a message greeting the Konoha genin of Teams 6, 7, and 9.

_"Those who lack _, seek knowledge and wisdom. Those who lack _ , train and seek strength. Only together will one be strong."_

"What the hell? It's missing some words." Kasumi pointed out.

"Maybe it's related to the scrolls." Sai added.

"You should probably open the scrolls." Shikamaru drawled out, but then Ino bopped him on the head.

"Hey! We're not supposed to open them!" Ino said.

"The proctor only said not to open them until we reach to tower." Sasuke added as he took out both scrolls and handed one to Sayuri.

"On Three. One. Two. Three!" Sasuke said as both Uchiha opened their scrolls.

"Those are summoning scrolls! Throw them away!" Natsuki shouted as the Uchiha did so, and out came a plume of smoke, revealing one Umino Iruka.

"Congratulations you guys! I knew you'd make it out alive!" Iruka said happily.

"Iruka-sensei?!" Was the collaborative response.

"Yep, it's me! If you're wondering why I'm here, it's to congratulate you for clearing the second exam.

"Neh, sensei. What's with the inscription? It's missing some words." Sakura asked.

"Well I'll explain that. Those who lack Heaven, should seek knowledge and wisdom. It means that if you aren't as smart as others, you should read and study. Those who lack Earth, should train and seek strength. If you aren't very strong, you should train yourself and become stronger. Only when you have both will dangerous missions become safe." Iruka explained in his boring lecture-voice. "Anyways, you should get a move on to the arena here. just go through those doors to your left." Iruka instructed his former students who nodded and left.

**-Arena-**

The arena was quite spacious, though many genin took up space on the fighting ground. The Konoha genin saw the rest of the genin from Konoha, along with many other teams. There was 2 Kumo Teams, 2 Kiri Team, 2 Suna Teams, 2 Iwa Teams and 1 Ame team.

A few minutes have passed as a loud bell rang throughout the tower. Soon a voice came from the speaker.

"THAT MARKS THE END OF THE SECOND PART OF THE CHUNIN EXAMS! ALL GENIN IN THE TOWER PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE ARENA!"

Afterwards, the five Kages appeared at the front of the room with two bodyguards each. What caught most people's eyes, especially the eyes of the Iwa ninja was the blonde following the Hokage, and the fact that they look very similar to each other.

"Everyone, Line up in your teams so we can begin!" A Konoha jonin announced as the genin assembled in lines of three.

"Thank you Hayate-san. First and foremost, Congratulations on making it this far! Before we begin, there is an explanation we must make concerning the exams." The Hokage said as everyone's attention turned to him.

"You may think that the Chunin Exam is to promote peace, increase your skill, or to show off your prowess. Let us correct you now." The Raikage paused before continuing.

"The Chunin Exams, is merely a replacement for **war**." A finished as he braced for the incoming shouts.

* * *

**Translations**

**Katon: Endan - **Fire Release: Flame Bullet

**Gogyo Fuin** - Five Elements Seal**  
**

**Katon: Karyu Endan** - Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet**  
**

**Sen'eijashu** - Hidden Shadow Snake Hands**  
**

**Sojasosai no Jutsu -** Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique**  
**

**Fuja Hoin - **Evil Sealing Method**  
**

**Zankuha - **Decapitating Airwaves**  
**

* * *

END CHAPTER!

I wanna say that I did an okay job for Sasuke getting the curse mark, mostly because of his reason for wanting power.

Anyways, sorry it took so long, but how did you think of it?


	14. Ch 14 Preliminaries and Truths!

A/N: **MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Or.. not... But Hey! It's something! Really wanted this as a Christmas Update...  
**Another thing, I may or may not be changing my Pen name by December 30, so just a heads up. (Will post an update or something)

**MINOR CHAPTER UPDATE:MAY 11/2013**

* * *

Before we get to anything, I just wanted to put this out there.

Well, recently I just got my first rage reviewer(okay maybe not recent), **(You know who you are)**, something I really expected much earlier but I'll still send this message out.

**If you were expecting someone who really knows what they are doing, then you are looking at the wrong place. As a relatively new author, I am most definitely bound to fuck up. For better stories, please check out authors such as pokemaster12, Wyrtha, xNamikazeKyuubix, etc... Have a nice day!**

Sorry 'bout that, just had to get that out there. I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out. Anyways, thank you everyone that's continuously given me their support! I really want this to get to at least the Pein arc.

I'm doing a brief overview of the Prelim battles, and I will try and go more in depth for the actual finals, you can count on it. I'm only doing an overview of the battles because if I went into full detail, it would take a chapter or two for me to finish, and I'm too lazy/busy to think of custom battles.

**Qzh:** Yeah, there really is no strain for any kind of power... So to hell with the pedo!

**Trimonter:** To answer that, Kyoka Suigetsu is (from what I've seen) is based of attacking the senses, complete hypnosis etc... while Tsukiyomi is more of illusions based off light rays/affecting the mind.**  
**

**MUGETsuCLAMP****: **There, I do admit I was rather lost... but I do try not to just randomly dump crap into the story if I can help it. (I do now anyways...)

**Rikudo Naruto: **The Akatsuki will have an appearance after the exams before I go into the Land of Snow bit and the three year time skip.

**Ryuken85: **Yes, Right now, Naruto can fight many S-Rank Shinobi head on without Bankai or his mask, though he will have trouble without using reiryoku.I'll make a profile of his abilities soon.

**StrifeCloudxxxFF7: **I thank you for the note about the chunin exams, and the info about Genesis. Too be honest, I'm not completely into Final Fantasy (Although it's an amazing series).

**SinofDisaster: **Yes, there's really no strain on the whole need for power, so no Sasuke retrieval.

**ncpfan: **I really wanted to have that confrontation about Naruto between Minato, Kushina, Tsunade, Natsuki and Kasumi for this chapter (or at least the start of it), so yeah... Hopefully I did a decent job on it.

**lesaras: **Alright Alright, there won't be no guarantees but I'll keep an eye out for it.

**Rothwell: **The only reason why I made the curse seal activate when Sasuke woke up was because how I imagine it, Orochimaru injected evil chakra into Sasuke's body, so that was just his body getting used to it and using up excess energy to aid in the seal being sealed. It's just how I imagine it anyways.

**ultima-owner: **I'm eventually going to have the curse seals on Anko and Sasuke being permanently removed, the Evil Sealing Method was just a temporary way of sealing it.

Anyways... this chapter isn't the greatest, mainly due to the preliminary fights. Actually, in my opinion, this was one of my worst chapters, so I'm sorry in advance! And no I do not own **Naruto**

* * *

"Speaking"

_"Thinking"_

Flashback Parts

**"Demon/God/Summon speaking"**

**_"Demon/God/Summon thinking"_**

**Jutsu/Kido/Zanpakuto Technique names**

* * *

**_Previously,_  
**

_"The Chunin Exams, are merely a replacement for **war**." A finished as he braced for the incoming shouts._

* * *

**Ch. 14 Preliminaries and Truths!  
**

"WHAT!" Angry and surprised voices called out their surprise at the statement.

"What's the point then?!"

"SILENCE!" The Yondaime shouted as people quickly closed their mouths, trying to avoid any unnecessary actions.

"Thank you. As we were about to explain, the Chunin Exams are a replacement for war. This is because war is a truly terrible event. The Third Great Shinobi War is an example of it. Over a decade ago every nation has suffered, and while we've all been able to recover from it, the scars of war remain visible to many." The Hokage explained as the Kages all looked down, saddened by the great losses, while the Tsuchikage tried to hide a scowl.

"A village's strength is determined by its shinobi. At the final stage of the Chunin Exams, Feudal Lords and Ladies from all countries will be visiting to see your skills. And as such, villages with better shinobi will naturally be trusted more for missions." The Kazekage added.

"Anyways, I'll have Hayate-san explain to you the third stage." Minato said as Hayate stepped forward.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. Alright, the third exam is a tournament with 1 on 1 battles." Hayate said as a hand was raised, from one Nara Shikamaru.

"You said it was a tournament. Does that mean only the winner gets promoted?" The Nara asked.

"Good question, but no. You could lose the first round, but still become a chunin. Just as you could win the tournament without being promoted. The promotions are based on your performance. The third exam takes place in one month, but it appears that we have too many genin. So we shall do a preliminary right now." Hayate declared as shouts of protests arise.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" "SOME OF US JUST GOT HERE!"

"Shut up!" Hayate shouted to the crowd as he then sighed. "It isn't our problem that some of you got here today. You should've thought of getting here earlier. Now behind me is an electronic screen which will randomly select two people. Once they are chosen, everyone but those two will get off the arena. Got that?" Hayate explained, receiving several nods.

"Alright then, before we even start, does anyone want to back out?" Hayate called out as in the crowd, Sakura and Sayuri turned their worried gaze to Sasuke.

"Don't worry Sakura, Sayuri-nee. I'll be fine." Sasuke reassured them as they nodded. Eventually, a hand slowly came up from the crowd.

"Um, I would like to forfeit Proctor-san." A nervous voice came as the Konoha ninja recognized that as Kabuto.

"Alright then, what's your name?" Hayate asked the genin.

"Yakushi Kabuto."

"Alright then Kabuto-san, you may leave. Now is there anyone else? No?" Hayate asked the crowd again, but after a while saw that no one else was going to forfeit.

"Good, now our first two competitors are..." Hayate said as the screen shuffled through the faces of the genin. Then it stopped. "Uchiha Sasuke vs Akado Yoroi! Now everyone but those two, get off!"

* * *

**-After the Battles- **(A/N: Canon Characters are how the look in the corresponding part, canon fights are relatively the same.)**  
**

"Once again, I would like to congratulate everyone on their victories, now would everyone who won their match please come down to the arena?!" Hayate exclaimed as the arena was cleared, but was slowly refilled.

Up on the sidelines, Naruto smiled. The battles had been nothing short of amazing in his opinion. Some were better than others, but they were still impressive for genin. Naruto continued a soft smile as he remembered some of the more notable matches.

Uchiha Sasuke had won against Yoroi. Naruto smiled as he remembered that Sasuke did at least thank Lee for copying a part of the youthful genin's technique for the Uchiha's **Shishi Rendan**.

Aburame Shino won in his battle against Abumi Zaku. The Aburame had some of his bugs clog up Zaku's wind pipes which exploded when Zaku used one of his techniques. Rather painful and gory considering that Zaku tried to use his technique with both arms.

Sabaku no Kankuro won against Tsurugi Misumi, one of Kabuto's teammates. Turns out that Kankuro was a puppeteer, and had been hiding in the package for the entire time.

Omoi of Kumo fought an Iwa Shinobi and won. Apparently the Iwa shinobi didn't learn how to channel chakra through his katana, which was cut into several pieces due to Omoi.

The battle between Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura was actually better than most would expect, even if it ended in a tie. Sakura had predominantly used genjutsu, while Ino stuck with lower level ninjutsu and clan techniques. Regardless, it ended as a double knockout in taijutsu.

An Iwa Shinobi by the name of Son Goku (Sue me..) fought against another Kumo shinobi and Goku came out victorious in taijutsu.

Sai was paired up with a Kumo ninja on Cell 7. It ended as a draw as Sai was able to defeat his opponent, if barely, but collapsed of chakra exhaustion.

Sabaku no Temari fought Higurashi Tenten. This was simply another match where one was at a big disadvantage. Tenten, a weapons mistress in the making, was paired with a wind user, and predictably, Tenten had lost.

Junsai of Kiri was paired against a Suna shinobi, and things came to a tie by another double knockout. One by going unconscious in with a bubble of water covering the head while the other was hit with a barrage of earth pillars.

A Kiri nin by the name of Hoshigaki Aoi fought against Karui of Kumo. The Kiri ninja had the upper due to his larger reserves, high stamina coupled with his use of the Silent Killing. Karui lost in the end after a good kenjutsu fight.

Nara Shikamaru had fought against Tsuchi Kin, and as the Nara say, it seemed rather troublesome in Shikamaru's opinion. Regardless, it did showcase the Nara's strategics, making a plan from the start.

Two Iwa genin were paired together, and it ended as a tie, one knockout and the other chakra exhaustion.

Uzumaki Natsuki fought against a Kumo shinobi and won. The losing Kumo nin had was not much a strategist, and was more a close-range fighter, opposed to Natsuki's mid to long range fighting.

Uchiha Sayuri fought some Kiri Shinobi on Cell 19 who was better speaker than a fighter, though still a decent fighter. Sayuri simply used her Sharingan and placed some genjutsu on the Kiri Shinobi.

Uzumaki Kasumi fought Inuzuka Kiba. The battle was predominantly taijutsu, though Kasumi was able to whip out some ninjutsu near the end, helping her win the fight.

The next battle was between Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata, the prodigy of the Branch Member against the kind Heiress of the Hyuuga clan. It seemed that Neji still spouted fate everywhere, and Hinata couldn't bring herself to attack her cousin from what Naruto saw, thus Neji won. Though the fact that Neji kept spouting crap about fate and how Hinata was weak did not sit well with many people, especially her teammates and Natsuki.

This battle was easily one of the best, brutal in Naruto's opinion, though the blonde felt Hayate should've stopped it a bit earlier. This was a fight between Sabaku no Gaara and Rock Lee. Gaara had some kind of automatic sand defense which also acted as an offensive weapon, but Naruto felt something off about the Suna nin's chakra. Lee had used his superior speed and was able to outmaneuver the sand tentacles (DON'T EVEN THINK ANYTHING WEIRD), but in the end was trapped, and Lee's left side of his body was crunched up with sand. At least the jonin were able to interrupt the match, making Gaara winner by forfeit and save Lee.

Akimichi Choji lost against Kinuta Dosu. It was pretty good in Naruto's mind, though it seemed Choji wasn't very motivated, much like a lazy Nara on his team. That was, until Dosu called the plump boy "fat", and then Choji just went all out, but still lost. However, Dosu for some reason decided to forfeit just before his victory was declared, making it a technical tie.

An Iwa shinobi by the name of Yumi fought against a Suna shinobi and won. Yumi had used a variety of long ranged weapons along with seals against a puppeteer, clearly Yumi was planning on being a weapons mistress like Tenten. Somehow Yumi had been able to hide exploding tags in her barrages and eventually destroyed the puppets, the puppeteer forfeiting in the end.

Nakagawa Suiren of Kiri went against another Kiri Shinobi from the other team. It seemed that Suiren had the advantage of using water to a very high degree of mastery, being able to stop any water jutsu, and in this case, they were the only jutsu the opponent had. Suiren had an easy victory.

The second last battle was between Samui of Kumo and another Kiri ninja, with Samui winning an all out kenjutsu.

The last battle was between an Iwa Shinobi named Ayumo and a Suna nin named Daichi. Ayumo relied on heavy genjutsu while Daichi used ninjutsu, though it appeared that Ayumo had won by torturing Daichi through genjutsu.

* * *

**-Back on the Arena-  
**

"And these are the match ups, so listen up!" Hayate shouted out loud, getting the genins' attention. Then the electronic screen flipped through peoples' names.**  
**

**Match 1:** Uzumaki Natsuki of Konoha vs Hyuuga Neji of Konoha**  
**

**Match 2: **Aburame Shino of Konoha vs Sabaku no Kankuro of Suna**  
**

**Match 3:** Nii Samui of Kumo vs Hoshigaki Aoi of Kiri**  
**

**Match 4: **Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha vs Sabaku no Gaara of Suna**  
**

**Match 5:** Nara Shikamaru of Konoha vs Sabaku no Temari of Suna**  
**

**Match 6:** Ayumo of Iwa vs Omoi of Kumo**  
**

**Match 7: **Uchiha Sayuri of Konoha vs Son Goku of Iwa**  
**

**Match 8: **Uzumaki Kasumi of Konoha vs Yumi of Iwa**  
**

"As you can see, we were not able to reduce numbers to single digits, so it will be a big tournament. You've all seen what your opponents can do, so prepare accordingly. The Finals of the Chunin Exam will take place in one month, so prepare well. That is all, and Congratulations!" Hayate exclaimed as the genin cheered, though most were in deep thought, reflecting on their opponents tactics and abilities.

* * *

**-With the Kages-**

"Those were some impressive battles indeed." The Raikage spoke.

"I must agree with Raikage-dono. Your genin are well trained Hokage-dono." Mei added.

"I thank you, though your genin are well trained as well." Minato replied back.

"You youngster... But I will admit these genin are some of the most skilled I've seen." Onoki, the Tsuchikage answered.

"Indeed, now, I would like for us to return to my office for a brief discussion before you prepare to depart." The Yondaime Hokage inquired as the other Kage looked confused but nodded. Then after the room was clear of genin, the Five Kage stood up and walked out with their bodyguards trailing their respective Kages.

* * *

**-Hokage's Office-  
**

"The reason I asked to return to my office is for the discussion." Minato said as he took out a scroll.

"I propose a 5 way alliance between our villages." Minato declared, stunning the group.

"5-Way Alliance? Can such a think really happen?" Mei asked suspiciously. Kirigakure is still recovering from the economic damages the Bloodline Wars caused. Something like this would be an incredible opportunity for Kiri and for Mizu no Kuni. Similar thoughts plagued the minds of the other Kages.

"Yes, I do not need an immediate answer, so please take these copies of the treaty with you when you leave." Minato said as he handed each of the other Kages an identical scroll. Each Kage then stored the scroll.

"Good, now for our next and last topic. This pertains more to the guards, but would anyone like to volunteer for an exhibition match before the finals of the Chunin Exam? This is to promote peace, or at least non aggression between villages." Minato asked as some people went in front of the Hokage. Naruto and Killer Bee walked up, and Tetsu was walking but decided not to volunteer.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to join that exhibition match." Naruto said respectfully.

"Yo yo Ho!Kage I want in on that batch, Yo!" Bee said, rather excitedly. Most people snickered at the Hokage, but also at Bee's horrid rhymes. Bee took this differently and whipped out a notepad and pencil and began scribbling notes into it. Minato's eye twitched rather dangerously.

"And what might your name be?" Minato said rather sweetly. The dark skinned man paled slightly.

"Imma Killer Bee, whee..." Bee said, quickly losing his eccentricity but whipped out a small book and pencil and begin writing while mumbling to himself.

"I... see... It will be just Killer Bee and Kurosaki Naruto for the exhibition match then." Minato said as he sighed again. "Well that is all that we will need to discuss, so enjoy yourselves before you leave." Minato said as the room was slowly cleared out, leaving Minato, Jiraiya and Naruto.

"You two can go..." Both guards nodded as one left through the window and the other by shunshin, leaving Minato alone with paperwork.

* * *

**-Golden Flora Hotel Lobby-  
**

Mei inwardly sighed as she was going for the stairs. She was never too fond of politics, it was a dangerous game. Suddenly, she gasped as she felt two arms wrap around her waist, but relaxed as she recognized her boyfriend's signature.

"Hey there Mei-chan." Naruto whispered into her ear.

"Oh Hello Naruto-kun." Mei replied as she felt Naruto kiss her cheek.

" *Ahem*, Not that I don't mind seeing you two getting excited, but at least have the decency to do it in the room." Tetsu chuckled as Ao then spoke.

"*Sigh* Why back in my day, you would've just proposed and gotten the marriage over with." Ao said, but felt two dangerous presences.

"Ao, Shut up or we'll kill you." Both Mei and Naruto said very sweetly, the blue haired guard paling rapidly and muttered something similar to "What did I do this time?!". Tetsu laughed at Ao's expense.

"Anyways, Mei-chan. It's still quite early in the day, so would you care for another date?" Naruto asked.

"When? And it better be casual, I don't have anything fancy." Mei replied.

"Well, if Tetsu and Ao allow it, which I'm sure they will." Naruto then smiled too sweetly towards the two guards, who paled. "Right now." Naruto happily chirped.

"Eh? Sure why not?" Mei said as the two left holding hands, leaving a gaping Kiri nin.

"Did he just..." Ao said out loud.

"Hahaha Yes he just walked off with Mei-sama on a date Ao, yes he did." Tetsu added. "I don't know about you but I'm gonna have a look around Konoha." And with that Tetsu left Ao.

* * *

**-Park-**

Of course, rather than going to a restaurant, Naruto planned to buy some food and bring Mei to the park, while having a clone play his violin. There, Naruto had met up with Yugao and Hayate.

"Yo! Yugao, Hayate. Stop making out, I wanna introduce you to someone." Naruto said from behind, causing the mentioned two to jump and stop kissing.

"Seriously, couldn't tap on a shoulder?" Hayate said blushing that the two were caught by Naruto, _again_.

"What's the fun in that. Well, do you remember how I was talking about Mei from Kiri? Well, Hayate, Yugao. I would like you to meet my girlfriend Terumi Mei." Naruto 'presented' Mei to his two friends who gaped.

"Mizukage-sama?!" Both ninja yelled.

"Hahaha... Terumi Mei, Godaime Mizukage. A pleasure to meet you too. Naruto-kun told me a lot about you when he was in Kiri." Mei giggled at the two's expressions.

"..." Hayate could not even form words in his shock, though Yugao was able to get over it rather quickly.

"I've always wanted to meet you Mei-san! Naruto doesn't stop talking about you!" Yugao chirped with starry eyes, while Naruto and Mei blushed slightly.

"That sounds like Naruto-kun." Mei said as she felt Naruto hug her from behind.

"Anyways, Mei-chan, why do you think Tetsu decided not to join the exhibition match? I saw him walking up, but then he backed off." Naruto asked curiously, but then remembering the box of dango he set off and opened it.

"Well, probably because you signed up... Tetsu is strong, but he at least knows when to give up." Mei giggled as she took a stick of dango, the other kenjutsu users stared at Naruto.

"And your doing the exhibition match too?!" Hayate yelled.

"Yep, me and a Kumo nin named Killer Bee. The guy's got like 7 swords on him, though he's like the Gai of Kumo..." Naruto muttered the end, as his long time friends looked at him incredulously.

"He can't be that bad can he?" Yugao just had to ask.

"With his rhymes? Yes, and I quote when he wanted to sign up for the exhibition match against me. "Yo Yo Ho! Kage I want in on that batch, Yo!" Naruto said in a henge of Bee, everyone staring at him.

"That's... that's... That's just ludicrous!" Hayate said as he remembered that he was still the proctor.

"How do you think we feel? We were in the room, and everyone in the room cracked up a bit from it." Naruto said, but then looked in the sky and saw that it was nearing sunset.

"I suppose it's best we go now. Mei-chan still has to go back to Kiri." Naruto said as he told hold of the Mizukage's hand.

"Yeah, It was nice to meet you Mei-san." Yugao said as Mei smiled in return and the two couples left the park.

* * *

**-Golden Flora Hotel-**

"Well they seemed nice." Mei said, still holding hands as she and Naruto went up the stairs.

"Yugao tends to be nice to just about anyone. Hayate's just has his eccentric moments every now and then." Naruto said as he chuckled, remembering some of Hayate's misadventures with Gai.

"It was nice going on another date, we don't get to do this too often." Mei said as the two arrived at Mei's room.

"Oh well, what can we do? Maybe we can go on some more dates when you come back in a month." Naruto said as the two began a heated make out session in front of Mei's door. They didn't even notice Tetsu walk up to them to greet them, until Tetsu decided to interrupt with a cough.

"*Ahem*..." Tetsu said as the two jumped and saw Tetsu grin at them and immediately blushed being caught "in the act".

"You know, at least have some privacy..." Naruto scolded the Kiri nin.

"You were making out in front of the door, in the middle of the hall..." Tetsu replied. "Anyways, it was nice seeing you again gaki. Hopefully we can have a spar some time soon." Tetsu added.

"Then why did you back out of the exhibition match?" Naruto asked.

"I'm strong, not suicidal. An exhibition match with you and that Bee guy would have gotten me out of commission." Tetsu shot back.

"Fine... I'll see you off tomorrow Mei-hime." Naruto whispered into Mei's ear, causing the busty Kage to blush, and with that Naruto left in a flash.

"Bloody showoff... " Tetsu grumbled.

* * *

**-That Night, Naruto's Mindscape-**

**"DAMN YOU SUSANOO!"** A loud shout came from the house in Naruto's mindscape as the blonde heard dominoes tumbling to the ground for who knows how long.

Naruto sweatdropped as he entered the room and saw Yami try to kill Susanoo with a rusty spoon, while Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi and surprisingly the Goddess of Death sip on some tea in another room.

"Down Yami!" Naruto shouted as Yami sheepishly chuckled, but decided to silently promise pain to the god of storms.

**"Naruto, there is something we must speak of." **The Shinigami said suddenly.

"Alright then, what of?" Naruto replied as he sat down across from the goddess.

**"Two things actually, one pertains to your status as my avatar, and the other of your abilities." **The Shinigami sipped on some tea before continuing.

**"I should've told you this much earlier Naruto-kun, but when you were chosen to be my avatar at the age of 5, your body had to be altered slightly to cope with the addition of reiryoku. Your DNA, was altered in it as well... I know you don't exactly care too much about it, but you were technically no longer the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. I'm so sorry for keeping this from you." **And with that, the Shinigami, Goddess of Death, broke into tears. Even if she was a higher deity, she still had emotions, contrary to the popular belief.

"Sh... It's okay Shini-chan" Naruto gave the goddess a soft smile. "What's in the past is in the past." Naruto added, then the Shinigami sighed.

**"I'm not exactly sure of how much your DNA was altered, though you could end up being a cousin, nephew, or even brother of both Minato and Kushina." **The Shinigami sighed again as she felt someone wipe her tears, looking up to see it was Naruto with a tissue, Amaterasu holding a box of tissues from Kami knows where, all while both female zanpakuto were giggling.

"Even if you're an almighty deity and all that crap, I hate to see a woman cry." Naruto said as the Shinigami blushed slightly. The three females and Naruto turned to Yami, who was giving out perverted giggles with Susanoo, and blasted the two spirits with killer intent.**  
**

"So... **so... **Scary!/**Scary**!" Was what the two stuttered out as they cringed in fear. Having Tsukiyomi smile at them, or Naruto threaten them was fine, but this was insane.

**"Anyways..." **The Shinigami composed herself before continuing. **"About your abilities. You have gotten more powerful, and will only get more powerful as your abilites with reiryoku grow. That can be a problem in the future. You see, even with your control over the spiritual energies, some of it is beginning to leak out. Right now it's not even a mention worthy amount, but in the future it can be an issue. You see, reiryoku was also called 'Energy of the Dead', and even though chakra uses both physical and spiritual energy, your shinobi are unable to detect beings of purely reiryoku.  
**

**You are the only one spiritually aware, as you can harness both chakra and reiryoku. However, if too much of your reiryoku leaks out, then pluses and Hollows may begin to appear. The Soul Society is still not in decent enough shape to contain any souls, and the path between the dimensions is still rather damaged, so we must avoid the creation of pluses and Hollows. **

**Naruto, soon I want to bring you to the Spirit King's Palace to place a specialized seal on you. This seal is an adjustable seal which seals away your abilities. This is to be done so you can manage your energies. However, the standard version does not allow you to adjust how much of your abilities is sealed, so I must alter it and gather the materials needed for it. I'll be able to finish it in a few months." **The Goddess finished her explanation as Naruto nodded.

"So basically when you're ready, you bring me to the Royal Palace in the spirit world to put this seal on me?" Naruto said out loud as the goddess nodded.

**"Yes, it would not do if you suddenly found yourself against a Vasto Lorde, and one more thing. Do you remember how I told you that Aizen was sealed?" **The Goddess asked, to which Naruto nodded.

**"It has been roughly 1000 years since he was sealed. What I did not mention to you at the time is that the seal was designed to bind his soul to the modified Kido spear used to seal him. The seal was also destroying his very soul piece by piece. Now I estimate that his soul would be completely destroyed in around five years from now."** The Goddess explained to Naruto.

"Dear Kami I thought I was going to have to deal with this Aizen guy myself. I doubt I could do what Ichigo did and fight him on even ground yet." Naruto said in relief.

**"No, you won't be doing that for a while, though I would like you to check the seal after I place the limiting seal on you. It would be nice, as I can not interfere with mortal business directly. I suppose that's it for now." **The Shinigami said.

"Alright then, I think I'm gonna go back to sleep now. It was nice seeing you again Shini-chan." Naruto said happily as the blonde disappeared from the mindscape.

**"Well, I shall be leaving as well. Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu, do keep those other two in line." **The Shinigami said half seriously to the female spirits before leaving as well.

* * *

**-The Next Day, East Gate-  
**

"I'll see you in a month or so Mei-chan." Naruto whispered into Mei's ear, the busty woman blushing. Off to the side Yugao was squealing at how romantic it looked from her perspective, Hayate, was just trying not to think of anything too perverted.

"Okay gaki, you can stop flirting with our boss." Tetsu interrupted the two who sheepishly chuckled.

"Back in my day..." "Ao, don't even start." Tetsu warned his comrade. Ao, realizing that both Mei and Naruto were eying him dangerously, stopped talking where he was.

"Well, Tetsu, Ao. Take care of her!" Naruto said to the two as they nodded and left for Kiri.

"How romantic. Long distance relationships..." Yugao said dreamily.

"Right..." Naruto said, hoping that Hayate wouldn't say anything bad.

"Ruto, Jiraiya-sama would be so proud of you!" Hayate said as he wiped an imaginary tear away, as Naruto's eye twitched dangerously.

"Hayate-kun, nothing perverted." Yugao said overly sweetly as she somehow had a rusty spoon in her hand, Naruto passed it off as fuinjutsu. The trio stopped what they were doing as an ANBU messenger appeared before Naruto.

"Sempai, The council requests your presence." Naruto nodded as the ANBU disappeared, having his duty complete.

"Damn, what now?" Hayate asked.

"Council, again..." Naruto sighed. The council was always a pain the the ass to deal with.

**"Yo, just hope they didn't find out about reiryoku. Now that would really suck." **Yami added.

_"Don't even suggest that! Depending on what we do, we might have someone go through our mind, or be sent to a mental asylum or something." _Naruto replied to his 'darker' counterpart.

"Well, I'll see you guys later, Kami knows what the council wants at this hour." Naruto grumbled as he began walking in the direction of the council chambers, his friends by his side. Naruto looked down and smiled as he saw his zanpakuto.

**-15 Minutes Later, Council Chambers-**

"Where the hell is he? I'm sure most of us have better things to do at this hour." A civilian councilman said.

"Have patience, whatever it's for, I'm sure its important if Hokage-sama ordered a meeting at this time." Koharu said.

The doors then opened, revealing an emotionless Naruto garbed in the standard jonin equipment with the flak jacket open, revealing a navy blue shirt with white kanji for "Guardian", his three zanpakutos on his belt.

"I hope I did not make you wait too long Hokage-sama." Naruto said as the Kage dismissed him.

"No you haven't, it's only been 15 minutes." Minato replied as Naruto took his place in front of the council, with both the civilian and shinobi council present.

"Kurosaki Naruto. Do you know why you have been summoned?" The Hokage said loudly.

"No I do not, please enlighten me." Naruto replied back.

"Kurosaki Naruto, you have been called to explain certain rumors about your abilities, your clan name, and your relationship with the Godaime Mizukage." Minato said.

"Please begin with the rumors surrounding your abilities and your clan name." Homura said as Naruto nodded.

"Councilman Homura, may I ask this. What rumors do you speak of?" Naruto asked rather politely.

"Rumors have been in circulation about a possible clan under the Kurosaki name, with a potential bloodline akin to your own abilities. Not only that, Jiraiya-sama as noted that you are the Holder of the Legendary Phoenix Contract, as you had summoned a phoenix on the retrieval mission to find Tsunade-sama." The Hokage added.

"Hokage-sama, I do indeed have the Phoenix Summoning Contract." Naruto then rolled up his sleeve, revealing the Mark of the Phoenix Contract."Technically, I have no bloodline of my own, at least nothing that can pass as a bloodline." Naruto said as he unrolled his sleeve, but immediately regretted it once he saw the expression on Minato's face.

"Hokage-sama, isn't Kushina-sama's Uzumaki vitality and recovery considered a bloodline?" Shikaku pointed out. Naruto cursed as he remembered that he is technically not Minato's and Kushina's son by blood, though the blonde was pretty sure that both Minato and Kushina knew this as well.

_"Damn it! Leave it to Shikaku to remember... Most the clan heads and the elders know that I was Minato's son, and I highly doubt that coming out and saying that I'm not his son by blood anymore is a good idea... Damn what can I do? I doubt I can just come clean about it." _Naruto thought to himself.

**_"Sure you could come out that you are no longer Minato's son by blood, and that you were chosen as the Avatar of the Goddess of Death, who was the same Goddess that Minato summoned to seal the Kyuubi. And you just so happen to have not one, not two, but three talking swords and a darker counter part, all working with him, along with the ability to use the spiritual half of chakra. And don't even get me started on the whole Guardian of the world, Soul Society, Energy of the Dead, Hollows / Arrancar, and crazed madman Sousuke Aizen. Nothing bad could possible happen. " _**Yami said sarcastically.

_"You're going to have to stick with half truths for now. Doing what Yami suggests is not an option. You don't want people to know that you work for Shinigami-sama." _Tsukiyomi said intelligently.

"Well? We are waiting Naruto-san." Minato said as Naruto turned to the Kage, rather annoyed that the conversation came to this subject. Naruto could've sworn that Minato was enjoying this.

"Technically, Yes the Uzumaki healing and vitality are considered a bloodline, but that is of the Uzumaki Clan. In my case, I have a bloodline, though at the same time it may not be considered a bloodline." Naruto said, shocking everyone in the room, and silently hoping that they would believe the next part. However, one councilman decided to jump the gun.

"Elaborate!" The civilian shouted.

"I have no obligation to answer to you, _civilian_, but I will indulge you." Naruto shot back. "When I became a chunin, I got my blood tested for a Kekkei Genkai. The results were odd." Naruto said before continuing.

"I am sure that you are all aware that I used to live with Hokage-sama and his family. When I first unlocked my chakra when being trained by Minato and Kushina as a child, something, unexpected occurred." Naruto continued. "When I was meditation to find and unlock my chakra, I was glowing a light blue. Minato can attest to this. Anyways, once I unlocked my chakra, I found a second pool of energy, and before you ask Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama, I am not a jinchuuriki." Naruto said, causing the audience to gasp once again as people began scheming. Shikaku just sighed and pondered on the legitimacy of this story.

_"A secondary source of energy, how often do you see that. Nine biju, so nine, well ten jinchuuriki. I know for sure that Naruto isn't one, but... *Sigh* I can see why Shikamaru-kun thinks all blondes are troublesome..." _The Nara head thought to himself.

_"A secondary source of energy?! He's so much like a jinchuuriki, yet he isn't. I must find out more about this energy, such an ability would be useful."_ Danzo thought in his mind._  
_

"Yes, that did indeed happen. His body glowed while he was meditating, but immediately dissipated when Naruto stopped meditating." Minato added.

_"So that was what it was. For some reason, I highly doubt it can be passed on to children. It was a random occurrence, for all I know it could've been an overload of chakra." _Minato reasoned to himself.

"Anyways, I do not know much about it, except that it is similar to chakra, very similar. In fact, I am under the belief that it can be used in the same manner as chakra is. However, when I went to do a bloodline test, the result was supposedly in between. It is common practice for medical scans and tests to be done several times to have conformation. The first time, it came out positive, and negative the second time." Naruto clarified as people were slightly disappointed, but still tried to plan to gain power from the potential clan, especially those in the Civilian Council.

"As for my relationship with the Mizukage. Three years ago while I was still enlisted in the ANBU Corps, my comrade Shark and I were assigned a mission. That day, a representative of the Bloodline Rebel Faction of Kiri came and asked Hokage-sama for assistance in the civil war. The representative was Terumi Mei, leader of the Rebel Faction at the time. Shark and I were sent to Kiri as regular shinobi, so we had gotten to know some of people there, and Mei was not an exception." Naruto explained as people nodded.

"I see, I would like to call a vote. All in favour of the creation of a new clan of Konoha under the name of Kurosaki?" The Hokage said as every hand rose, while Naruto wanted to slap his forehead before he gets paperwork. Unsurprisingly, Danzo was one of the voters for the new clan. Naruto sighed in relief as he felt that he had just dodged several kunai from point blank, though how he was going to tell Mei the news would be a bit of an issue.

"Very well then. New clan head Kurosaki Naruto, as the only member of your new clan, are you aware of your obligations as a Clan Head?" Minato said.

"Yes I am. As a new clan I am supposed to have four years to find at least three wives to start the clan, otherwise the Council would choose for me." Naruto said in return.

"Very well then. Kurosaki Naruto, please read more about your duties as clan head, we will speak more about your relationship with the Godaime Mizukage in the next meeting, and please meet me in my office after this. Meeting adjourned!" Minato shouted as people began to clear the room, some were scheming ways to get power from the new clan, while others simply did not think much of it. One person, was thinking of how troublesome it was.

Naruto sighed as he made his way out of the room and followed the blonde leader into the Hokage's Office.

**-Hokage's Office-**

On the way to the Hokage's Office, Naruto could not keep himself from muttering things such as "Stupid council always on my back." and "Kami damned politics" as this was one of the rare occasions that he openly showed a high degree of annoyance.

"Thank you for coming Naruto-san, there is something I would like to speak with you in private." Minato said as he ordered the ANBU to leave and discreetly activated a privacy seal.

"What could be so important that warrants the need of privacy seals?" Naruto asked.

"It's... *Sigh* It's about our past. I would like to make amends for our past." Minato said hesitantly while looking away.

"I... see..." Was all Naruto could say, stunned that Minato of all people was trying to reach out to him at this time. The blonde had expected Kasumi to be first, and then move to Kushina and Minato. Then Naruto stared at the Hokage suspiciously, remembering that he himself had wanted Naruto back as a clan heir.

"Why? You already admitted you only wanted me back as a clan heir." Naruto said suspiciously.

"I know we didn't exactly have a great relationship in the past, but-." Minato said as he was feeling a weight being lifted off his shoulders, until Naruto interrupted.

"It pretty much seemed like you hated me when I was younger. I'm already aware that for some unknown amount of time, I was no longer your son by blood. So tell me, what compelled you do do so? Was it confusion, but even then it would be very hard to believe." Naruto said cautiously.

"Wha- How'd you know?" Minato asked.

"*Sigh* I'm not exactly sure when it had happened, but I got my DNA tested when I became a chunin. Still not sure why I did it, but when the results came in, I was able to piece things together. When did you figure out?" Naruto asked in return.

"After that accident with the explosive tag." Minato said as Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he remembered that moment. He had no knowledge of explosive seals, or any seal for that matter, so Naruto as a curious kid had decided to play with the seal. The little Naruto was rushed to the hospital as the tag exploded a little too close for comfort.

"From where I stand, it seems that you are trying to get back a clan heir and possibly the power of a newly formed clan. Nothing too sincere about that." Naruto said.

"Either way, you seem to be under the assumption that I hate you." Naruto said, making Minato confused. "I may hold some resentment towards you and Kushina. As shinobi we must set aside our differences to work together. I've had years to get over the past and I have, for the most part. But I will not forget. Regardless, I still think that you did not handle your, I suppose it would've been confusion, of the situation very well." Naruto added as Minato hung his head in shame.

"By the way, how much has my DNA changed?" Naruto asked the blonde man.

"Well, you're still related to me, though the DNA says you're most likely a cousin or nephew." Minato replied back. Naruto sighed once again.

"Look, I will not forgive, and I will not forget." Naruto said as Minato looked visibly saddened, surprising Naruto. "However, I will give you one chance. You blow it, and you'll never have another shot at a relationship with me beyond our line of work."

"Anyways, how do you intend to explain this to say... Your family, Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, and even Sarutobi and Gamabunta?" Naruto asked, sincerely curious. Minato simply looked like a deer in headlights.

"Err..." Minato then tried to think of how he would explain it to the mentioned people. He already knew that Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune were rather fond of Naruto, and the Toad Boss liked visiting Naruto when the other blonde was younger. Then there's Kushina, Kasumi and Natsuki...

"Naruto-san, would you care to come over to the Uzumaki Namikaze Compound tomorrow?" Minato said as Naruto nodded in return. "Alright, that gives me enough time to gather Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune." Minato said as he deactivated the privacy seals.

"Right... Just try not to have Tsunade castrate you or anything..." Naruto added, before turning to leave, but then stopping.

"One more thing before I leave. Did the Shinigami say anything to you on _that _day?" Naruto asked as Minato tensed for a moment.

"Besides the fact that I lost 10 years of my life opposed to the normal death for summoning her? She did say something in some kind of foreign language, but besides that I do not recall that the Shinigami said anything else." Minato said as Naruto nodded and left.

Once Naruto had left, Minato let out a heavy sigh as he looked around his desk, and surprisingly it was clear of any papers.

_"It's like a sign. But that went a lot better than I expected it."_

* * *

**-Naruto's Apartment Room-**

_"Giving them another chance can't hurt, can it?" _Naruto mentally thought to himself as started making tea.

_"I say it was a good move. I think everyone deserves a second chance."_ Amaterasu added her opinion.

_"She's right you know. I mean, it's not like you hate their guts or they killed your girlfriend or anything. Even if avoiding their former son was not the nicest action towards you. At least Minato recognized that, hopefully."_ Susanoo added.

_**"Still, starting from a clean slab was probably the best thing you could have done. If you ended up hating each other, you would've had the whole village on your ass quite soon."**_Yami added his opinion quite bluntly.

_"He's got a point. The less enemies you have, the better. It would make things wonderful if your own village was practically against you if you and Minato are at each others throats..." _Tsukiyomi said.

_"True true, I hope I won't end up regretting this."_ Naruto said he saw his tea finished and began sipping on the hot drink. Naruto then turned to the clocked and saw that it was nearing 1:00 in the afternoon.

_"I should send a message to Mei-hime... If I'm lucky, then Kasai will catch Mei on the way to Kiri... " _Naruto mused to himself as he finished his tea and found a blank scroll and something to write with.

_Dear Mei-hime,_

_I know it hasn't been too long since you left, but something came up on my end in Konoha. After you had left for Kiri, the Konoha council had called for me. They had found out about our relationship, but that is not the main point. The problem is, there were rumors in circulation about my abilities and my new name, and the council in their 'infinite wisdom' (as if...) did something about it, making a new clan... You should be able to guess who, and this can vastly change our relationship. Please Mei-hime, when you come back, I hope we can talk about it.  
_

_With love,  
_

_Kurosaki Naruto_

Naruto sighed as he rolled up the scroll and placed down his pen. Taking the scroll to the balcony, Naruto began the hand-seals for the summoning technique.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" Naruto said as a small plume of smoke appeared, disappearing to reveal a bigger phoenix than before. Naruto was able to distinguish the summon as Kasai.

**"Oh hey Naruto. It's been a while." **Kasai said as Naruto nodded.

"It has Kasai. Think you can deliver a message to Mei-hime again?" Naruto asked as the phoenix eyed Naruto curiously.

**"Mei-hime? Last time it was just Mei-chan, so what happened?" **Kasai asked as Naruto blushed lightly, though the phoenix caught it and nodded in understanding.

**"If I knew you longer, then I would say something about it. But sure, gimme the message." **Kasai said as Naruto tied the scroll to the phoenix's right foot.

**"Bye Naruto."** Kasai said as he flew into the air and toward Kiri, leaving a small trail of fire.

"Well now that's taken care of..." Naruto said to himself as he finally took a sip of the now cooled tea.

* * *

**-Elsewhere in Konoha-**

"Ero-jii-san!" Two shouts were heard as one Toad Sage paled rapidly and slowly turned around to be greeted by the two jailers of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"Ah Hi Kasumi-chan, Natsuki-chan! What brings you to meet the Great Toad Sage?!" Jiraiya said as he puffed out his chest, declaring his title. He had also forgotten where exactly he was, until he felt a dangerous aura from a group of beautiful women covered with bath towels.

"Ero-jii-san... We'll talk after..." Natsuki said as she dragged her twin away, leaving Jiraiya ready for his just punishment.

"No! Kasumi-chan, Natsuki-chan! Come back!" Jiraiya pleaded as the malevolent aura increased from behind. Jiraiya paled and slowly turned around, all while thinking of an excuse.

"Er... G-good afternoon ladies.. Hehehe, mercy?" Jiraiya squeaked as he saw Tsunade come from the back of the group.

"None of that for you, **Jiraiya**..." Tsunade said while cracking her knuckles.

All of Konoha could hear high pitched screams of pain and agony. All the villagers silently prayed for the most likely departed soul who had suffered, though the few that knew what really happened, sighed.

**-Afterwards-**

"What... do you... want?!" Jiraiya wailed as he held his now rather mushy manhood.

"Oh don't be like that...Something happened to the seal in the forest..." Natsuki explained as Jiraiya instantly forgot about the burning pain.

"Let's go back to the compound for this then... But tell me, what exactly happened?" Jiraiya asked as the twins began retelling the events that occurred during the second stage of the Chunin Exams. Jiraiya frowned when they told him that Orochimaru placed a seal on top of _the _seal, quite painfully.

**-Namikaze Uzumaki Compound, Training Grounds-**

"Kasumi-chan, Natsuki-chan. Do you remember what technique Orochimaru used?" Jiraiya questioned the two as they thought for a minute. Kasumi shook her head while Natsuki stayed in thought longer, but remembered as the name hit her.

"Orochi-teme used something called 'Gogyo Fuin'. Do you know anything about it Ero-jii-san?" Natsuki asked curiously as Jiraiya went into thought.

_"The Gogyo Fuin is used to disrupt the flow of chakra... What's he after? Is it the Sharingan, or just revenge?"_ Jiraiya thought to himself as he tried to solve the puzzle.

"Well, you two are in luck because I know how to fix it. You can't mold your chakra properly can you?" Jiraiya asked, the serious atmosphere disappearing. As the sage had expected, he received two negatives.

"The Gogyo Fuin is used to disrupt the flow of chakra. Now if you can lift up your shirts so I can inspect the seal." Jiraiya said, but received two very cautious looks.

"Oh come on! I might be a Super Pervert, but I won't do anything to my own Goddaughters!" Jiraiya whined, mumbling something about disrespect. The Uzumaki twins sighed and did as told, revealing the **Hakke no Fuin Shiki **in all of its glory. Jiraiya took this moment to create a Kage Bunshin while having both right hands behind his back.

"Brace yourselves, this is gonna hurt, a lot." Jiraiya said as the fingers of his clones and his own right hand glowed a blue flame. Kushina saw this happen and decided to intervene.

"Oh do tell me, _Jiraiya..._" Kushina said far too sweetly for Jiraiya's liking. "What is going to hurt them so much?" Kushina finished as Jiraiya paled, but still managed to explain.

"Well uh... you see... Orochi-pedo placed a Gogyo Fuin over their seals so I'm going to get it off." Jiraiya said as his voice squeaked in the end.

"Fine, but if you mess up..." Kushina said as a smile filled with dark intentions appeared on her face. "You will lose what is most precious to you, **all of it**!" Kushina threatened with some killing intent. Jiraiya nodded vigorously as the woman left. Sighing, Jiraiya prepared the technique again.

"**Gogyo Kaiin!**" Jiraiya said as he and his clone slammed their right hands onto the seal, and twisting it in a unlocking motion. The twins let out a pain-filled shriek as Jiraiya fixed the seal. Once the Toad Sage was finished, the twins collapsed to their knees and panted heavily.

"Dear Kami... That hurt..." Kasumi said in between pants.

"A little... heads up... would be nice." Natsuki added.

"Relax, now try molding your chakra." Jiraiya ordered as the twins did as told, and were surprised as it was much easier than when they had the seal.

"Neh, Ero-jii-san, think you can train us for the finals?" Kasumi asked.

"Hmm..." Jiraiya went into thought, considering the pros and cons.

_"If I say yes, then Kushina probably will stop threatening me. But then I won't have time for research! If I say no... Kushina and Minato may or may not decide to 'convince' me, but then I can do more research!" _

"I don't know... I'll tell you tomorrow, but you should try to get your chakra control back up for now." Jiraiya suggested as he left in a standard leaf shunshin.

* * *

***The Next Day***

"Minato-koi..." Kushina said as she wrapped her arms around the Hokage. "You said something about a new clan head?" The redhead asked.

"Yeah, yesterday a new clan was made under the name of Kurosaki. I wanted to invite the clan head over to talk." Minato said as he dropped his pen.

"Oh? You better not be trying to plan anything for dear Natsuki-chan or Kasumi-chan mister." Kushina threatened as Minato chuckled, slightly in fear of his wife.

"No no no... Of course not!" Minato said as such thoughts disappeared from Kushina's mind.

"Good, so tell me. Who is he, what's he like?" Kushina asked as Minato began his explanations.

**-At Noon-**

In a far away training ground, Naruto sighed as he finished meditating.

_**"Oh come on! Don't be like that! Mei's not the kind of person to ditch ya before understanding. You should know that by now!"** _Yami shouted to his counterpart.

_"You shouldn't be so worried. It wasn't exactly your fault remember? Besides, you should be more worried about telling her everything. And I mean _everything_." _Susanoo added.

_"Your right. Though how am I supposed to explain this?" _Naruto wondered to himself, but got no reply. _"Susanoo, Yami. Where's Rasu-chan and Tsuki-chan? They've been awfully quiet."_ Naruto inquired.

**_"Probably sleeping... By the way, think you can come in the mindscape and make us so__me more sake__ so__on?"_** Yami asked. Naruto was about to reply, but felt the presence of a messenger.

"Naruto-san, the Hokage requests your presence." Naruto nodded as the messenger left and returned to his post.

_"Maybe..."_

After checking that his zanpakuto were still on his belt, Naruto left by disappearing into nothingness.

**-Hokage's Office-**

Inside the office, Minato was working furiously in his attempt to defeat the evil known as paperwork. He had been so caught up that he did not see a shade emerge from the ground and reveal one Kurosaki Naruto. Another minute passes as the Hokage was oblivious to the new presence, but Naruto decided to stop him.

"You requested for me Hokage-sama?" Naruto said, slightly amused.

"Oh, yes I did." Minato replied. "I would like for you to come over to the Namikaze Uzumaki Compound at 5:00 pm for dinner." Minato said, or ordered...

"It would be an honour Hokage-sama." Naruto replied. "If you don't mind me asking, did you invite Tsunade and the others?" Naruto added.

"Yes I did, though Jiraiya-sensei was more difficult..." Minato said as a smirk appeared on his face.

"Right... I shall see you then." Naruto said as he left, leaving the blonde Kage with his paperwork.

**-Konoha Streets-**

_"You know, it seems that every kage has problems with paperwork... Saru-jii told me that even he, Shodaime-sama, and Nidaime-sama had problems with the paperwork. And now Minato. Why don't they ever use the Kage Bunshin technique to finish it?!" _Naruto wondered to himself.

_**"Who knows, maybe their just that stupid... Probably the paperwork getting to them."** _Yami suggested as Naruto mentally nodded.

_"Well I have maybe 4 hours. I think I'm gonna get a bowl of ramen, then restock on equipment." _Naruto thought to himself as he set out to do just that.

**-4:45 PM, Naruto's Apartment Room-**

_"I think you have more then plenty Naruto-kun." _Amaterasu said sleepily.

_**"Nah, you seem to be missing a couple hundred kunai..."**_Yami added sarcastically, and was mentally slapped on the head.

_"Whatever, and good afternoon Rasu-chan. I better get dressed." _Naruto said as he changed into a black and red kimono with wooden sandals. Naruto also decided to let his zanpakuto de-materialize back into the mindscape. Walking through his door, Naruto reactivated his security seal and locked the door. Rather than using a shunshin, he decided to walk for a change.

_"How very dull... Wake me up if something fun starts..."_ Susanoo drawled out before going to sleep.

* * *

***Namikaze Uzumaki Compound*  
**

_Knock knock knock_

A muffled shout that sounded like "Coming!" was heard by Naruto, who stood at the door of the compound.

"Hello Naruto-san. Would you care to join us for dinner before the unpleasantries?" Minato asked as he ushered Naruto inside.

"Of course, I would be honoured. Would be right to assume that the others are here as well?" Naruto asked as he peered into the dining room, where Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Hiruzen and the twins sat.

"Indeed they are. I'll take the flowers off of you." Minato said as Naruto went to sit down. Minato on the other hand left to grab a vase. Before sitting down, Naruto saw that Kushina was beginning to serve ramen and walked over to help.

"Here, let me help you with that." Naruto said as he brought two large bowls of ramen to the table. Kushina nodded and gave a small smile as Minato, a clone of Minato and Kushina followed the younger blonde.

"Itadakimasu!" And so they ate, while passing small talk about the week. Most of it consisted of the Chunin Exams. Dinner had passed quickly as each person had a small dessert, in the form of a cake. Once finished, Hiruzen had offered to help clear the table with Minato and Kushina, while Minato left a clone to wash the dishes.

"Now that dinner is finished, let's go out to the training grounds for the unpleasantries." Minato said as everyone went outside, though Natsuki and Kasumi were more hesitant.

"You too Kasumi-chan, Natsuki-chan." Minato ushered the two outside as well.

**-Outside-**

"Sensei, summon Gamabunta. I think he would want to here this as well." Minato asked as Jiraiya reluctantly did so, afraid of the possible consequences.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" Jiraiya shouted as a giant puff of smoke erupted from the ground, revealing the Boss summon of the Toads.

**"JIRAIYA! WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?! FIRST THE KYUUBI, THEN WE SEE A PHOENIX! YOU WANT THE SANBI WITH THAT TOO?!"** The Toad Chief shouted furiously, squeezing the sage in his webbed hand.

"Hey hey hey! None of that... Minato just wanted me to summon you..." Jiraiya quickly spoke, not wanting to be crushed.

"Gamabunta-sama! It would be nice if you stopped killing Jiraiya-sensei." Minato waved from the ground as the giant toad released Jiraiya from his grasp.

**"Minato, is that Naruto?" **The toad asked, receiving a nod. **"OKAY SOMEONE TELL ME THIS. WHAT IN THE NAME OF KAMI IS GOING ON WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" **Gamabunta shouted once again.

"Calm down 'Bunta. I was going to explain that anyways..." Naruto said as the toad calmed down.

"Saru-jii, Jiraiya, 'Bunta. You guys already know that I was once the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Shizune and Tsunade, now you know." Naruto said, not quite sure what to say. Tsunade and Shizune looked at him as if he grew a second head, but then turned to Minato and Kushina with accusing eyes.

"But certain circumstances ch-" Naruto said, but was cut off by three pained shrieks.

All eyes turned to the origins of the sound, finding out it was from Kushina, Natsuki and Kasumi. What disturbed everyone, was that all three of them were gripping around their neck and shoulder. In the way that a person would do when Orochimaru leaves his hickey... Instantly, everyone went by each of their sides, while Naruto inspected the area where Natsuki gripped on.

_Crack_

With wide eyes, Naruto saw a seal appear and shatter, much like a mirror...

* * *

**OMAKE: How Minato 'convinced' Jiraiya**

"So, sensei... Would you like to come over?" Minato asked to his sensei, who was busy writing notes.

"Hmm... what for?" Jiraiya asked, not even bothering to look up from his notepad.

"Oh you know, dinner." Minato replied casually. For some sick (or ingenious) reason, this had grabbed the self proclaimed 'Super Pervert's full attention.

"Dinner you say! Why I'd love to! Is Kushina wearing that maids outfit li-" Jiraiya said enthusiastically, but was cut off as he felt a very sinister aura.

**"**Like what Jiraiya-sensei? Go ahead, finish that thought.**" **Minato inquired very darkly. His bangs had shadowed his face, and somehow he had beady red eyes, and an evil grin which threatened to split his face.

"Like um... Like... Like the one I gave her as a wedding anniversary gift!" The white haired pervert squeaked, but then suddenly thought to himself.

_"Oh... Shi-"_ Was his thoughts before he heard a dark shout.

**"Rasengan!"** Minato shouted as he slammed the blue ball of utter destruction... right where the sun doesn't shine.

**"**Don't worry Jiraiya-sensei, you have that powerful healing seal attached to your manhood, it'll grow back and it'll be as good as new...**" **Minato 'reassured' his sensei, very sadistically...

"M- Mercy! No, no more!" Jiraiya gasped out as he held his nether regions, where his manhood once was, in agony.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Hakke ****no **Fuin Shiki: Eight Trigrams Sealing Style**  
**

**Gogyo Kaiin:** Five Elements Unseal

**Rasengan: **Spiraling Sphere.

* * *

END CHAPTER!**  
**

I can say with confidence... that I utterly hate this chapter... The preliminaries wasn't a big problem, but the events afterwards... Writing lines for Bee, is much harder than I thought it would be. I'm a bad poet, and to be honest I suck at rhyming. The Omake was kinda fun though... I'm still not exactly pleased with the direction of Naruto's relationship with Minato and his family is going, but it seemed to work out.

Any suggestions/ opinions? Drop a review to let me know!


	15. AN

**THIS IS NOT A NEW CHAPTER! A/N For all stories.**

I'm sorry that it's been taking a while for me to get chapters out for my stories (All 3 of them). This is mostly due to exams which I will be finished very soon and will have time for fanfiction stories.

**HOWEVER**, I regret(or maybe not) to inform you that The Living Shinigami, is going to be rewritten. I like the direction of the story, but the way I've done it does not work in my mind. I've made promises to have Naruto drift away from his family, but there is absolutely nothing that reinforces it. Now that I have a better grasp of writing, I want to go back and improve it completely. That being said, The Living Shinigami will stay up until I get the rewrite caught up.

**As for the rest of my stories**, those will be continued, most likely with a focus on Changing a Future, though I will still work on Sage of Fairy Tail. I may also post random stories of my ideas, and based on your responses I may or may not continue them.

I would like to thank everyone who's encouraged me to continue writing, and hopefully I'll be able to write better chapters for everyone.

**This author note will most likely be deleted when new chapters come out. Thanks everyone~**


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